In March of 2023, the Boston Bruins locked up superstar David Pastrnak to an eight-year, $90 million contract with an AAV of $11.25 million. At the time of that deal, a lot of people thought that it was going to be a bad deal before it expired in 2031.
That deal may not look too bad after it was announced that the NHL salary cap is going to go up in the coming years. With the cap going up, you can bet that there are going to be some insane contracts coming to some of the league's top players. What do you think Connor McDavid's next deal is going to carry for an AAV? We may have gotten a glimpse on Tuesday after the Minnesota Wild finally got a deal done with Kirill Kaprizov.
Kirill Kaprizov's new deal exposes the bargain the Bruins have with David Pastrnak
Minnesota signed Kaprizov to an eight-year, $130 million extension that carries an AAV of $17 million. He turned down an offer for $16 million a year. For those of you keeping score at home, that's an extra $6.25 million a year than what Pastrnak is going to make. Don Sweeney has got a brilliant deal now.
Pastrank is one of the game's elite scorers, and having him locked up on the deal that he is was a great move by Sweeney. What the Kaprizov deal does do is it sets the market for McDavid and other superstars who are going to need contracts. The days of NHL teams signing big-name players to team-friendly deals are over.
Say that. you will, but with each passing year, Pastrnak's deal is going to be one that will look better and better with each passing year. Say what you will about Sweeney, but aside from Tanner Jeannot's deal, he has been getting some deals that look pretty good compared to other GMs around the league. This is another example.