Kalman: Bruins Shouldn't Worry About Outside Comparables And Just Pay David Pastrnak
By Matt Kalman, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- The window for NHL teams to keep their rosters intact and make a run at the Stanley Cup is smaller than it has ever been because of the salary cap and other CBA rules governing free agency.
So when former Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli re-signs restricted free agent star forward Leon Draisaitl to an eight-year, $68 million second contract as a restricted free agent in the same offseason he re-signed Connor McDavid to an eight-year, $100 million extension (one year earlier than necessary), he's clearly not prioritizing what the Edmonton Oilers' payroll is going to look like four or more years down the road.
No, Chiarelli is mostly focused on the window to win. He knows that he has an amazing chance to win the Cup a time or two with McDavid, Draisaitl and a few other core players, supplemented by some entry-level players (assuming the Oilers have drafted properly the past couple years). If he's still the GM after the window, Chiarelli can figure out ways to make the salaries work under whatever the NHL salary cap is down the road.
By agreeing to sign Draisaitl to the deal that was announced Wednesday, Chiarelli is both paying based on future production and what Draisaitl can do for the Oilers right now while their winning window is open. Welcome to NHL general managing in 2017, not 1997.
Of course that brings us to RFA David Pastrnak and what he's worth to general manager Don Sweeney and the Bruins. First and foremost, no one had to wait to see what the Oilers were going to give to Draisaitl to set a price for Pastrnak. The Czech speedster has always been worth at least $7 million a season ever since he emerged as the Bruins' second-best point producer last season.
Pastrnak is the present and the future of the Bruins. He's proven he can produce and has hinted at a high ceiling for future improvement. He's devoted to becoming a strong two-way player and loves Boston. The idea that he shouldn't make more money than Brad Marchand or Patrice Bergeron or whoever else while the Bruins subscribe to some antiquated Harry Sinden era philosophy of roster management is the strategy of teams that are too poor, too cheap or satisfied with just barely competing -- things ownership has repeatedly claimed it's not. The Bruins have been a salary cap maximum team since the 2004-05 lockout and they intend to stay that way and challenge for the Cup every year ... you know the speech. One could argue about ways the Bruins haven't maximized loopholes in the cap, but without arguing subtleties, ownership is right on this matter and it should continue to practice what it preaches.
If Pastrnak wants to be the Bruins' highest-paid player, they should do everything they can to grant his wishes relative to what has been officially set as market value. It's not his fault the Bruins decided to import David Backes at an obscene price. Nor should Pastrnak be asked to lower his price just because Marchand passed up an unrestricted free agent bonanza and signed for $6.125 million. What would Marchand get on the open market now, $9 million?
The comparison of Nashville's Filip Forsberg and his six-year, $6 million contract signed last year is quaint. Forsberg misjudged prices and although he'll be comfortable financially and be part of a Predators team that looks like it can contend for years, he'll have to wait for another payday. Agents can mess up as much as GMs do and maybe Forsberg is content. One year later the price for a forward of Forsberg or Pastrnak's caliber has gone up. If the Bruins were really worried about paying Pastrnak, they would've been proactive and signed this extension last year when Forsberg's price was the price.
One has to believe that Sweeney understands all of this and will eventually acquiesce to most of Pastrnak's demands. With both Sweeney and CEO Charlie Jacobs shooting down the Pastrnak trade rumor tweeted by an ex-player/ex-GM/ex-agent/current pundit, the Bruins are clearly committed to Pastrnak as part of their core. That's not to say that if these negotiations can't come to a crashing halt a trade won't become a possibility. But it's way too early to go down that road. The way players keep themselves in shape, the Bruins have until opening night to get this done. Or it could even linger into the season, although they could lose leverage if the season starts and they found out how difficult it is to score enough to win without him.
Pastrnak already has more leverage than the drafters of the current CBA predicted when they ended the 2013 lockout. Teams have been signing their high-end talent to lengthy, pricey extensions at unprecedented levels. With their older players taken care of, they've been using these second contracts to make younger players richer and keep them in the fold for a solid chunk of their primes. Replacing a talent like Pastrnak from outside the organization is nearly impossible. And even if you believe the Bruins' prospect pool has a handful of future stars, there's no guarantee it has any, and no guarantee it has anyone comparable to Pastrnak.
The Bruins' commitment to recharging rather than rebuilding has put them here. They want to win at least once more with the core of Bergeron, Marchand, Tuukka Rask and David Krejci (they might not have time to do it again with Zdeno Chara). Well then those players, who aren't getting any younger, need to be supplemented by high-end young talent, regardless of the cost.
And the price of doing business and building a roster this way is that outside comparables and internal pecking orders have to be set aside. The Bruins have to pay Pastrnak what he's worth to them. Even if that means a seven-year contract worth $7 million per season, or even a little more, the Bruins have to get it done and do what the Oilers are going to be doing: worry about the future when they get there.
Matt Kalman covers the Bruins for CBSBoston.com and also contributes to NHL.com and several other media outlets. Follow him on Twitter @MattKalman.
