Boston Bruins Sign Zacha To Four Year Contract Extension

The Boston Bruins signed one of their Czech players to a contract extension, but it probably isn’t the one that B’s fans have been hoping to hear about.

The Boston Bruins announced following their 4-3 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night at TD Garden that they have signed 25-year-old forward Pavel Zacha to a four year contract extension that will pay him $4.75 million per season. Zacha has five goals and 25 points in his first season for the Boston Bruins after arriving from New Jersey in a deal that sent Erik Haula to the Devils, and has been a versatile player switching around positions and lines while pretty steadily settling in as a top-9 forward for the Black and Gold this season.

Certainly, Zacha was happy with the deal after finding a home in Boston after living under the shadow of being a lottery first round pick with the Devils, a tough spot for a player that does a lot of really underrated things well.

“When I got the news that I was going to be traded here in the summer, I was hoping that I was going to show myself and will be able to be here for a long time and I’m happy that it happened,” said Zacha. “It’s a start, you know. It’s my first season and I have to prove myself and show why I’m here and why I’m going to be here for a longer time. It’s just super exciting for me to be part of this.”

Zacha, originally the sixth overall pick in the 2015 NHL Draft, has been a solid addition with ideal size at 6-foot-3, 210-pounds and has been a player that wins tons of battles en route to plays being made for the Bruins, but he has been a bit snake-bitten despite a very good NHL shot. Zacha fired one off the post on a 2-on-1 rush in Saturday night’s win over the Leafs when he had a lot of net to shoot at when a rebound kicked right onto his stick, the kind of tough luck that’s been consistently sticking with him this season.

Pavel Zacha doing what he does best. Missing a wide open net.

pic.twitter.com/KL3koi3vUo

— Kyle Cannillo (@KyleCannillo) January 15, 2023

But Zacha has shown the kind of potential where his offense might still grow a bit while surrounded by the kind of offensive talent on the Bruins roster, as he’s already at the season’s halfway mark within 11 points of surpassing his career high in NHL points in a single season.

The questions will remain for the Boston Bruins about when they’ll be able to finalize things with fellow Czech David Pastrnak as well, but a Zacha extension at least gives the B’s a little more cost certainty about their financial picture moving forward to perhaps allow then to keep progressing on a big time extension for the game-breaking Pastrnak.

There’s little doubt the urgency increases for the Bruins to lock up Pastrnak as he sits on pace for over 60 goals and 110 points this season while scoring his 33^rd goal of the season in Saturday’s win over the Maple Leafs.