Boston Bruins and David Pastrnak update…good and bad news
Probably the most notable contract dispute situation going on in the NHL right now between the Boston Bruins and David Pastrnak has no end in sight, but the sides are working on it.
The NHL season starts in less than a month, and I’m sure some Boston Bruins fans are already getting a bit tired of the contract talks between the team and David Pastrnak. There is a bit of good news and bad news on the talks, however, that are worth noting.
The good news is that the team and the player appear hopeful that a deal will get done, and the sides are actively working on a resolution. Don Sweeney, Bruins GM, and JP Barry, Pastrnak’s agent, apparently spent a significant portion of time together yesterday attempting to work out a deal.
Pierre LeBrun, renowned hockey writer, formerly of ESPN and now currently with The Athletic, tweeted out that the meeting was lengthy and that dialogue had increased between the parties. However, the last portion of LeBrun’s tweet is the bad news, and makes me think that the light at the end of the tunnel may be dimmer than we would all hope at this point:
Lengthy discussion between Don Sweeney and JP Barry today on Pastrnak contract. Dialogue has picked up but still sizable gap.
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) September 7, 2017
What does this mean?
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What exactly is a “sizable gap”? Are we talking contract length or financials? Are they within $1 million or is it a couple million dollars? Is it all of the above? Could it be possible that after weeks of negotiations and a lengthy meeting, the sides are still standing firm on their respective positions? Bruins reportedly have offered 6 or 7 years at $6 million per year.
Pastrnak’s camp has stated that they’re seeking a full 8 year max term contract, similar to Leon Draisaitl’s 8 year, $8.5 million per season deal. Has there been no movement to the middle ground?
None of us are in the room, and none of us have a working crystal ball (that I know of), so only those on the inside know the likelihood of a deal happening soon and where the parties are in the negotiations.
Next: Boston Bruins: Players the team can’t afford to lose in 2017-18 season
All we can do at this point is speculate and hope that something gets done and gets done quickly. What I do know, is that if this drags on into the season, and no deal is done by the drop-dead date of December 1, there’s going to be a lot of upset fans on Causeway this winter.