After the Boston Bruins traded captain Brad Marchand to the Florida Panthers at the trade deadline, he was the final player from the veteran core that left Boston. That trade signaled a new core beginning for the rest of the 2024-25 season and beyond.
That core includes Charlie McAvoy, Jeremy Swayman (no, the Bruins are not trading him), and David Pastrnak. That is a good core to be building the next team around as the Black and Gold look toward the future. Pastrnak continues to be the Bruins' best offensive producer, and he continues to rise among the best in the NHL.
Boston Bruins star David Pastrnak ranked as the No. 2 wing by the NHL Network
The NHL Network released its Top 20 wings, and Pastrnak came in second, right behind Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning and ahead of Kirill Kaprizov of the Minnesota Wild. Pastrnak. moved up two spots from last season's ranking.
Introducing the Top 20 Wings Right Now! @NHL | #NHLTopPlayers pic.twitter.com/yT2m7xI5ZM
— NHL Network (@NHLNetwork) August 6, 2025
Five of the last six seasons, Pastrnak has been a 40-plus goal scorer, which includes 61 in Boston's record-setting 2023-24 season. The only season he failed to eclipse the 40-goal plateau was in the COVID-19 shortened 2020-21 season.
Going into a pivotal 2025-26 season, the Bruins are going to need Pastrnak to continue to play at the level of his ranking. If two things were consistent last season, Morgan Geekie continued to have another breakout season for the Black and Gold, but Pastrnak's production continues to be the norm.
Boston is facing a crucial period as on paper, it doesn't look like a group that has improved enough to be in the running for spot back in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and there is still time for moves to be made, but if the Bruins are going to get back into the postseason, they will need Pastrnak to be the top wing in the league, something he's more than capable of doing.