Agent For David Pastrnak Denies Rift With Don Sweeney

The agent for Boston Bruins winger David Pastrnak has denied a report in The Athletic that the Bruins winger will not sign a contract extension with the team if Don Sweeney is still the Bruins general manager.

In an interview with Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald, Pastrnak’s agent J.P. Barry cautioned for everyone to pump the breaks on the David Pastrnak trade rumors that exploded over the last 48 hours. He also said that he has no idea where the theory that if Don Sweeney is still the GM, Pastrnak wouldn’t sit down to negotiate on an extension.

“I spoke with Don and David this morning and we don’t know where this report emanated from,” Barry told the Boston Herald. “We both have a solid relationship with Don and the plan hasn’t changed one bit. We will sit down in July and begin extension negotiations.”

On Tuesday night, Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic quoted a source he claimed was close to David Pastrnak saying the following about an apparent rift between the Bruins star winger and the Bruins GM due to the departures of Torey Krug (2020) and David Krejci (2021). Here’s the quote:

“88 had seen how Don has treated his two best friends,” a source close to Pastrnak wrote The Athletic in a text. “No chance he comes back with Sweens as GM.”

Shinzawa had also been on local sports radio Monday Morning speculating why David Pastrnak would want to sign an extension with the Bruins considering they are set to have Brad Marchand (hip) and Charlie McAvoy (shoulder), on the shelf for the first two months of the 2022-23 season, and seem headed for at least a retool?

Prior to the aforementioned source ‘close to Pastrnak’, an NHL source who is friendly with David Pastrnak had this to say about the sudden onslaught of NHL trade rumors surrounding Pastrnak:

“I don’t know, I can’t see it right now,” a trusted NHL source told Boston Hockey Now Tuesday afternoon. “The Pasta I know would want to be part of the solution and help the team build back, but he does have more to think about now.”

On Tuesday morning, Sweeney told the media that he has every intention of signing David Pastrnak to a long-term extension the second league rules permit it.

“Well, we can’t have a discussion with David until the calendar year on the 15th, but I’ve said all along that I will attack that one as I have with all of our players that we’ve looked to go longer term on right away,” Sweeney said of his plans to lock up Pastrnak. “We’ll see where it goes. David has a decision to make in that same vein. He might be sitting back and balancing the same way with it, whether it’s Patrice or anybody else we’re adding. Those conversations will come to light, and we’ll have to make a decision based on the information I get.”