Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said July 13 that his team would have an "aggressive mindset" in its attempt to sign right winger David Pastrnak to a contract extension.
Almost a month has passed since those comments and Pastrnak is still without an extension. He's entering the final year of his contract and can become an unrestricted free agent next July.
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What's the latest update on the negotiations between the Bruins and Pastrnak's camp?
"Ongoing would probably be the best way to describe it," Sweeney told reporters at a press conference Wednesday morning. "We've been in regular communication. Obviously, David is still over in Europe and the likelihood is he'll come back and we'll talk between now and then. When he gets back we'll maybe have a better idea of a deal timeline, but I don't have one today. I'm not going to comment publicly on ongoing negotiations, but we've been in regular contact with (agent J.P. Barry)."
It would be ideal for the Bruins if Pastrnak signed a new extension before the season. The longer Pastrnak goes without an extension, the more it becomes a distraction for the franchise.
"It's part of the business. Leverages are what they are, the conversations are ongoing," Sweeney said. "We've made our intentions known all along and we'll continue to do that, and we'll go from there. As far as entering the season (without an extension), not a problem."
Boston Bruins
The Bruins need to do everything possible to convince Pastrnak to re-sign long term.
He has scored the sixth-most goals in the NHL since the start of the 2019-20 season and has averaged 35.8 goals over the past five seasons. Pastrnak led the Bruins with 40 goals in 72 games last season. He's the only Bruins player since 2002-03 to score 40-plus goals in a single season, and he's done it twice.