Grading Predators’ 6-Year Contract for Mavrik Bourque

The Nashville Predators have been very active this offseason, revamping their forward core and adding a ton of fresh faces to their depth chart as they try to make their way back into the playoff picture next season. One move they made was with the Dallas Stars, which included acquiring promising forward Mavrik Bourque.

TRADE 🔄

We've acquired forward Mavrik Bourque and defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin from Dallas in exchange for a second-round draft pick in 2027 and Vegas' third-round draft pick in 2028. pic.twitter.com/sVOkpfJxIx

— Nashville Predators (@PredsNHL) July 1, 2026

Just a couple days after the announcement of the trade, the Predators followed it up with the announcement of a six-year extension, which was reported to have a $5.5 million annual cap hit.

We feel the need…the need for Mavrik 😎

We've signed forward Mavrik Bourque to a 6 year contract.

Full details » https://t.co/ClNMhDy3FW pic.twitter.com/zxpxxss3nX

— Nashville Predators (@PredsNHL) July 4, 2026

In this article, we are going to take a quick look at what that extension means for the Predators, and give it a grade.

Bourque Makes Predators Younger, Strengthens Bottom Six

Bourque joins a struggling Predators team and hopes to help pull them out from near the bottom of the standings. With the Stars currently focused on trying to keep Jason Robertson around, they had to make some moves, and unfortunately, Bourque ended up being a casualty.

Bourque, who is 24 years old, is coming off of his best NHL season, where he scored 20 goals and added 21 assists for 41 points through 82 games, which comes out to a 0.50 points-per-game average. Throughout his career, he has scored 31 goals and added 35 assists for 66 points through 156 games, which comes out to a 0.42 points-per-game average.

The Predators are paying for Bourque’s potential, and while he will likely start in the Predators’ bottom-six forward group to start the season, there is plenty of room for growth, and a strong likelihood he could move into their top six by the end of the 2026-27 campaign.

Bourque plays a solid two-way game that will be beneficial for the Predators, and if he can continue to find ways to grow offensively, he could end up being one of the best valued contracts in the NHL.

Mavrik Bourque, acquired by NSH, is a two-way third line centre. pic.twitter.com/tjLg0iYzVU

— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) July 1, 2026

There are a lot of positives in Bourque’s game, and I think there is still another level to his game that fans haven’t seen yet. The Predators being able to find a way to land him in a trade, then get him extended on a long-term deal for a fair price, is tidy work from their new management group.

It’s hard to find any negatives in Bourque’s game, other than the fact he could benefit from being a little more confident offensively, and could continue working on being a physical player when he needs to be. But, considering the going rate of young players, especially after the recent offer sheet drama driving up the price of everyone around the league, this is an almost perfect extension for the Predators.

Contract Grade: A+

There is always a risk that a player won’t fit well under a different coach or different system, but I don’t think anyone should be concerned about Bourque. He works hard, plays hard at both ends, and has the skills to become a strong second-line centre for a long time, even when the Predators do get back into contention, eventually.

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