When it comes to contracts and extensions, there are a handful of Boston Bruins players who would fall into the category this summer. General manager Don Sweeney would like to lock up some veterans he has entering the final year of their deals, with center Pavel Zacha at the top of the list.
If Zacha begins the season with the Black and Gold without an extension, there are going to be a lot of eyes on what happens when it comes to a potential trade by Boston. If Sweeney made Zacha available, then there would be no shortage of suitors. That will be one of the more interesting storylines once training camp opens next month.
However, when it comes to some of the Black and Gold's younger players, there are some that Sweeney could choose to lock up. However, what Pittsburgh Penguins GM Kyle Dubas did on Thursday could set the market for two young Bruins players.
Penguins set the market for two young Bruins forwards in terms of an extension
Pittsburgh signed 23-year-old Ville Koivunen to an eight-year contract extension for $32 million, which carries an AAV of $4 million. What makes that signing interesting is that he has played a total of 47 NHL games with two goals and 14 points. He was a second-round draft pick of the Carolina Hurricanes and was acquired by the Penguins as part of the Jake Guentzel trade in 2024.
So what does this mean for the Bruins, Sweeney, Marat Khusnutdinov, and Fraser Minten when it comes to extensions? Good for the players, not so much for Sweeney and the front office.
In the case of Minten, who was acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs as part of the return for defenseman Brandon Carlo, had a major breakout season in 2025-26. He played in all 82 regular-season games with 17 goals and 18 assists with a plus/minus of plus-21. Minten averaged 15:33 a night.
What would an extension look like? Well, considering he's double the number of games played by Koivunen, you're looking at least the same AAV if not a tad higher. Then there's Khusnutdinov, who was acquired from the Minnesota Wild at the 2025 trade deadline for Justin Brazeau.
In 77 regular-season games this past season, Khusnutdinov had 15 goals and 18 assists while averaging 14:30 a game with a plus-12. The second-round pick of the Wild in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, Khusnutdinov is looking at a very similar contract to Koivunen's. That is a deal that Sweeney might do, maybe on a tad bit shorter term.
Decisions are going to have to be made and made quickly by Sweeney. On Sept. 16, the next CBA goes into effect, and the maximum length of a new deal goes to seven years from eight. Expect more signings to be announced between now and then, but will one of them be the Bruins?
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