Bruins Need to Back up the Brink’s Truck for Pavel Zacha

In July 2022, the Boston Bruins acquired center Pavel Zacha in a one-for-one trade with the New Jersey Devils for center Erik Haula. This was another instance of the Bruins winning a trade. Zacha found his identity in Boston and thrived under former head coach Jim Montgomery, the chaos of interim head coach Joe Sacco’s limited tenure, and now Marco Sturm.

He was a key piece in the team’s run to the playoffs, and at times has served as the top-line center on a team that was built with duct tape and baling wire.

As a bright spot in the lineup, he had a career year, scoring 30 goals and 65 points. It’s been a positive twist for the 6th overall pick in 2015, who, at one point in 2025, the team considered trading. Now, they’ll have to consider backing up the Brinks truck as he’s been a glue-guy on one of the Bruins’ best lines every night.

While there’s no rush to extend Zacha, who is signed through next season, general manager Don Sweeney should consider locking him down beyond his age-30 season to help keep the Bruins’ window of contention open as long as they can. Zacha makes $4.75 million, average annual value.

Bruins Need To Sign Zacha to a Rewarding Extension

Zacha has played 320 games and scored 228 points (86-142) as a Bruins forward. The last four years have solidified his impact on the team’s success, and he should be a part of it in the future. With very few comparables at the moment, we’ve seen what others have hypothesized what an extension for the Czech-born forward could look like.

Of course, he won’t be able to write his own paycheck beyond his contributions to the team. But he could effectively add a substantial amount of money with his next deal. Per Adam Proteau:

But if we’re talking about someone who could become a 30-goal scorer in his prime, re-signing Zacha to a salary between $6 million and $8 million should be something the team can handle.

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Though there’s been a more modest proposal that has used Christian Dvorak and Alex Wennberg’s extensions as a reference.

The deals did not stop there. The Philadelphia Flyers came to terms with center Christian Dvorak on a five-year deal. This new deal will see him make $5.15 million per season. With the salary cap rising, these numbers aren’t bad for these respective clubs. It would be wise for Zacha and his agent to use these as good comparables for the next contract.

Zacha has found a way to stay relevant in the Bruins’ postseason, playing two games in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs on the team’s second line. He’s also scoring at a point-per-game pace against a very difficult opponent, the Buffalo Sabres, and averaging 15:43 in ice time with the series tied 1-1.

He’s been a consistent contributor through 27 postseason games with the Bruins, scoring 14 points and 14 penalty minutes. Not to mention he’s been a part of the Bruins’ best even-strength line:

​Head coach Marco Sturm called upon Arvidsson and his second line with Pavel Zacha and Casey Mittelstadt to bounce back. They were the Bruins’ best 5-on-5 line during the regular season, leading the team with 42 goals scored and a 65.63 goals-for percentage through 59 games together

Sweeney will have to find a way to make the financials work should he choose to extend him before the end of the 2026-27 season, but Zacha would be worth re-signing, and, hopefully, the two parties can start discussions this offseason.