The ‘Take less money to win’ era is over in Boston. And that’s OK

Matt Larkin
Matt Larkin(MLarkinHockey)
The ‘Take less money to win’ era is over in Boston. And that’s OK
Credit: © Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

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A Boston Bruin? Getting paid his actual market value? In this economy?

No, literally: in this economy?

The salary-cap era Bruins have been incredibly, consistently successful largely because their star players have bought into the idea of taking less money than they’re worth to win. Zdeno Chara did it. Patrice Bergeron did it. Brad Marchand did it. David Pastrnak also did it on his previous contract, which, at a $6.67 million AAV, rapidly became known as one of the NHL’s biggest steals. Pastrnak is the NHL’s 90th-richest player based on his current cap hit. Not bad for a guy sitting fifth in the league in goals over the past five seasons, trailing only Leon Draisaitl, Auston Matthews, Alex Ovechkin and Connor McDavid.

Well, Pastrnak is Mr. Discount no more. On Thursday, minutes after completing a trade for Tyler Bertuzzi, the Bruins announced an eight-year extension for Pastrnak, who was set to become a UFA this summer. The pact carries an $11.25 million AAV. The $90 million in total money makes it the 10th-richest contract in NHL history.

When defenseman Charlie McAvoy signed an eight-year extension last season, carrying a $9.5 million AAV, it marked the first time in a long time we said, “Sounds about right” on a contract for a Bruins star. Now, we’re saying the same for Pastrnak, 26.

Next season, he, will be the league’s sixth-richest player. That sounds much more accurate. He might be a two-time first-team all-star by the end of this season. He has spent much of his career as one third of the greatest play driving line in hockey alongside Marchand and Bergeron and, this season, Pastrnak has proven he can carry his own trio, spending the majority of his 5-on-5 minutes on the Czech Line with Pavel Zacha and David Krejci. Pastrnak sits sixth in goals per 60, third in shots per 60, third in shot attempts per 60 and ninth in scoring chances per 60 in the NHL at 5-on-5. On the power play, no player in the league gets more shots on goal than Pastrnak on a per-60 basis this season. He’s one of the best pure scoring threats of his generation.

Pastrnak is on a Hall of Fame trajectory already, 18 goals away from 300 and still three years and change away from turning 30. He seems like a safe bet to hit 500 goals someday, and I’d bet on 600, too.

So the Bruins were justified to pay Pastrnak what he was worth. Heck, he might’ve gotten $12 million a year if he hit the open market. He already took the haircut on his previous contract, so it was time to pay him back.

And yet: the deal, when viewed alongside McAvoy’s, does seem to signal the end of an era, a shift in Boston’s long-term trajectory. The Bruins and GM Don Sweeney understood the need to pay ‘Pasta’ whatever he wanted likely because they know Bergeron, 37, could retire after this season and that Krejci, 36, is no sure thing to stick around. Boston, running away with the Presidents’ Trophy at a 47-8-5 record, is undoubtedly all-in for the Last Dance this season, having just rented pending UFA Bertuzzi from the Detroit Red Wings and Dmitry Orlov and Garnet Hathaway from the Washington Capitals.

But next season? The water gets dirty (that one’s for you, B’s fans). Eight Bruins regulars become UFAs. I thought going into this season that the Bruins would be hard pressed to stay competitive, and they proved me very wrong, but with the Pastrnak cap hit factored in this time, the Bruins already have close to $73 million tied up in 14 players. They also have (a) one of the shallowest and lowest-ceiling prospect crops in the game right now; (b) no first-round picks until 2025 unless their 2024 first-rounder is in the top 10; (c) no second-round picks until 2026. There’s all-in, and then there’s getting a ‘STANLEY CUP CHAMPS 2023’ face tattoo in March and worrying about the rest in the summer. The Bruins are at the latter level.

And that’s totally OK. It’s an observation rather than a criticism. The Bruins have the same points percentage as the 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens. They’re on pace to break the single-season record for team points. They have to empty the clip.

But they seem to understand that things will be different starting next season. They’ll have 13.64 percent of their cap space justifiably devoted to one player and 25.1 percent between just Pastrnak and McAvoy if the cap goes up $1 million. They’ll build around a core of those two, plus Zacha, Hampus Lindholm and the Linus Ullmark/Jeremy Swayman goaltending duo, with Marchand still inked for two more seasons.

But the Bruins will be a top-heavy franchise starting in 2023-24. And as the Chicago Blackhawks, Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals have shown in the years following their recent championships, the formula eventually erodes your team. You have to keep relying on cheaper and cheaper depth pieces, and all the success depletes your draft capital, so you aren’t injecting the lineup with enough high-ceiling youth.

For years, the Bruins were the perennial powerhouse that bucked that trend, winning the 2011 Cup and reaching the 2013 and 2019 Finals, largely because their stars earned less than market value. No more. Pastrnak’s deal cements the beginning of a new era. It’s possible we see the Bruins stake a big step backward through the contract’s progression. And that’s OK. It’s the circle of life for an NHL franchise. And there was no way Boston could let its superstar walk.

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