NHL Agent: ‘Who Wouldn’t Want To Be Pastrnak’s Agent Right Now?’

Boston Bruins winger David Pastrnak wasted no time in giving his agent J.P. Barry more ammo to use in contract extension talks with Bruins general manager Don Sweeney. Pastrnak opened the final season of his current contract with a goal and three assists in a 5-2 season-opening win for the Bruins over the Washington Capitals Wednesday night.

“Who wouldn’t want to be Pastrnak’s agent right now?” a longtime NHL agent asked rhetorically on a phone call with Boston Hockey Now Thursday morning after watching Pastrnak dazzle and put on an offensive clinic in Washington D.C. Wednesday night. “His stick is basically a pen writing a new number for Barry to bring to the table every day now. From what I’m told, it has been a harmonious process so far between Barry and Donny, but sooner rather than later, his performance is going to draw a solid line in the and the Bruins will need to back up their words with I’m thinking one of the richest contracts of the salary cap era.”

As the agent pointed out, so far, there seems to be a common desire by both David Pastrnak and the Bruins to find common ground and keep the 6-foot-1, 195-pound, 26-year-old sniper in Black and Gold for a long time.

“Both sides have been open about continuing our talks. So, I don’t think things change at all from that standpoint, unless David takes a different position, but up until this point we’ve been communicating regularly and when he feels comfortable, hopefully, we finalize a deal,” Don Sweeney told reporters this past Monday at Bruins Media Day. “There isn’t any timeline on that, but we’re going to have to communicate almost every day, to tell you the honest truth, and see if we can find the finish line.”

When and where that finish line may be is anyone’s guess. According to TSN Insider Darren Dreger, as of Tuesday, there had not even been numbers exchanged between the David Pastrnak camp and the Bruins.

“That’s the multi-million dollar question,” Dreger replied when asked on the latest TSN ‘Insider Trading’ if there was any desire from either side to hammer out a deal ASAP. “There’s no guarantee though there’s a strong appetite from both sides to get something done. 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.”

Dreger, as my BHN colleague, Joe Haggerty, wrote two months ago, pointed to the contract extension that Jonathan Huberdeau signed with the Calgary Flames in August as a likely starting point for Barry and David Pastrnak.

“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,” Dreger opined. “It depends on how aggressive or serious the Bruins are about getting extension talks heated up.”

After watching his fellow Czech countryman and new linemate simply dominate on every shift in the season opener, Bruins veteran center David Krejci was even amazed at how good Pastrnak has become since Krejci left to play in Czechia prior to last season.

“I see him every day in practice. He’s just a world-class player,” Krejčí told reporters after the game. “It’s crazy. That guy has no ceilings. He just keeps getting better.”

David Pastrnak was then asked about Krejčí’s comments.

“Obviously, I work on my game every day. I’m feeling old, but I’m still pretty young,” Pastrnak said with a smile. “I definitely think I can get better, and I’m trying to get better every day.”

Krejci is correct on that rising ceiling of potential and Pastrnak is correct that he’s still young. The affable winger is entering his prime years and will only get better from here. Pastrnak, to steal a term from the movie Jerry McGuire, has the ‘Quan’. Not only does he have game on the ice but he has it off it with his lovable personality and desire to help the community. Sooner rather than later, the Bruins need to reward Pastrnak’s ‘Quan’ and pay him because like it or not, there will come a time when Pastrnak and Barry are screaming ‘Show Me The Money!‘