Bruins, Pastrnak mutually interested in extension, but no numbers exchanged yet

Boston Bruins star David Pastrnak will at least begin the season playing out the final year of his current contract.

TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger reports there's mutual interest in getting an extension signed, though numbers have not yet been exchanged.

Pastrnak, signed at a cap hit of $6.67 million, is coming off his second career 40-goal season and could be the No. 1 player on the free agent board next summer, if the Bruins don't re-sign him.

"That’s the multi-million dollar question. There’s no guarantee though there’s a strong appetite from both sides to get something done," Dreger said Tuesday on Insider Trading. "Right now, the focus for Pastrnak is simply to play hockey, get off to a good start in the regular season, and that’s it. Bruins general manager Don Sweeney acknowledged this week that Boston is very keen on extending Pastrnak but they’re not willing to throw out numbers yet.

"I think both sides are trying to keep it respectful from a public standpoint, so I’ll throw out a recent comparison. I look at Jonathan Huberdeau’s extension with the Calgary Flames at eight years, $84 million, which is a $10.5 million average annual value. Now, Pastrnak (26) is younger than Huberdeau (29) so that could be the starting point.

"It depends on how aggressive or serious the Bruins are about getting extension talks heated up."

Pastrnak had 40 goals and 77 points in 72 games last season, adding three goals and six points in seven playoff games. 

He signed his current six-year, $39.9 million contract in 2017 as a restricted free agent after topping the 30-goal mark for the first time. He has topped the 30-goal mark in every year since, with the exception of the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 campaign.

The Czech forward has