The Boston Bruins have re-signed forward David Pastrnak to a six-year, $40 million contract, through the 2022-23 season. The 21-year old Czech player was second on the team in points, second only to linemate Brad Marchand.
David Pastrnak Re-Signs with the Boston Bruins
Pastrnak was chosen 25th overall in the first round of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft and signed his entry-level contract that July. He is one of only two players selected that year to play over 40 games in the 2014-15 season, with the other being the Florida Panthers’ Aaron Ekblad. He put up 27 points at the NHL level and 28 with Boston’s AHL-affiliate Providence Bruins. In his second season, he had 26 points in 51 games played, as well as four points during an injury rehabilitation stint in Providence.
In the 2016-17 season, he earned 70 points, including six game-winning goals. He scored two goals and two assists in his first Stanley Cup Playoff series, the Bruins first-round series against the Ottawa Senators. He has time and again shown himself to be one of the most essential players on the Bruins roster, both in scoring and in assists, and in just three seasons he has proven himself to be an asset to the Bruins offensive core. Having him as a part of the team for the next six seasons will help the team keep growing in the goal-scoring department.
On June 20th, he was named Player of the Year by the Czech Ice Hockey Federation. The Zlata Hokejka, or “Golden Hockey Stick” is an award given to the best Czech-born player in the world. Other recipients have included Patrik Elias, Jakub Voracek, Jaromir Jagr, and Pastrnak’s Boston teammate and hockey idol David Krejci. Winning this award shows that Pastrnak has proven himself as a player, and that he is considered among the elites in his home country.
Takto vypadá konečné pořadí letošní ankety #ZlataHokejka. Vítězem se stal útočník @NHLBruins David Pastrňák (@pastrnak96). #narodnitym pic.twitter.com/Ft9SOVC45M
— Hokej.cz (@webhokejcz) June 20, 2017
General manager Don Sweeney announced at the end of the season that re-signing Pastrnak was a “top priority,” and that they were making it the focus of their off-season efforts.
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