BRIGHTON, Mass – It could have been easy for a 21-year-old David Pastrnak to slack off a little, or certainly feel a little too comfortable after putting ink to a massive six-year contract at the start of Bruins training camp back in September.
It was telling, though, that Pastrnak’s first media availability after signing the six-year, $40 million contract was a thoroughly modest and informal scrum in the B’s dressing room at Warrior Ice Arena. The Czech right winger even joked that an $8 sushi dinner at the Galleria food court was his first big purchase when asked what splashy purchase he’d make with his newfound riches.
“I got dinner yesterday for $8...rice and chicken teriyaki,” said Pastrnak, joking about his favorite spot for mall sushi, Sakura Japan.
While a funny line, it also let everybody know pretty immediately that Pastrnak wasn’t going to change his approach or his personality despite a much fatter bank account. It also signaled the game-breaking forward’s focus was still where it mattered most -- on hockey -- and there wouldn’t be any Tyler Seguin-type turns for the worse after signing a big contract.
That has played out on the ice as well in his first NHL season since signing the big second contract with the Bruins, and then some.
Pastrnak played all 82 games as a member of the Perfection Line with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand, and for the first time ended up leading the Bruins with 35 goals scored while also posting a career-high 80 points on the season. It was the kind of season that made his linemates take notice and appreciate the professional way he handled his season when many other young players might have gotten carried away with themselves.
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“The biggest thing I was happy to see was the way that he came back from the year that he had,” said Brad Marchand. “He signed a big contract and a lot of guys will kind of take a step back and be comfortable. But he had that drive to come out and have another really good year. His consistency was better this year.
“He came up big in a lot of big games. It’s another step for him in becoming a good pro and that’s the biggest thing. Playing at that same level every night is not an easy thing to do, especially when you’re always going up against other teams' top lines at a young age. But he took another big step in his career. Hopefully he does that every year where he keeps learning a little bit more, and he’ll be a big player for this team for a long time.”
There was only one full month (February) where Pastrnak had fewer than double-digit points and only one full month (October) where he was a minus player, and the physical battle level continues to grow for a player becoming more Bergeron-like and Marchand-like with each passing season. Certainly the goals and the numbers are nice for a player like Pastrnak who views his production as a responsibility for team success. The right winger most definitely put in the work to become even more dangerous with his searing slap shot from the left face-off circle while leading the B’s special teams with 13 PP goals this season.
The only big question to remain for Pastrnak after a brilliant fourth NHL season: The Stanley Cup playoffs. Pastrnak had his first toe-dipping experience in the postseason last spring where the numbers were good enough (two goals and four points in six games), but it was also clear the game-breaking right winger had some difficulty being targeted by the Senators. There were times Pastrnak got frustrated and took penalties, and there were other instances where he was effectively blanketed with the hard-edged attention mostly paid to both him and Marchand.
“I hope [Pastrnak] has an appreciation for how difficult it is and the lack of space and how hard people are going to play for every inch of ice,” said Bruins GM Don Sweeney. “I think that he took that to mean he was going to be targeted as a top line player. He was an emerging top line player last year. From day one, people recognized that [their line] was a group that’s very difficult [to stop].
“He’s a big part of that. He’s played every game this year. He’s stayed healthy and produced from start to finish. Hopefully he’ll carry that forward, recognizing that it’s going to be a hard matchup every night.”
Pastrnak is fully aware of all that and armed with a more refined combination of hockey god-given skill and experience to handle the playoffs more adeptly this time around. That seemed to be the case in March when he carried the B’s with 10 goals and 22 points in 16 heavy, competitive games with playoff implications hanging overhead.
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It also can’t hurt that Pastrnak and the Bruins will be going into the first round against the Maple Leafs where emotions will be high, and where he’ll be playing against his old Swedish League buddy William Nylander.
“For me, it’s great, you know. I think it’s a good rivalry, you know. It’s going to be a lot of fun, and you know, I hope we all get excited [because it’s] very exciting. We’re starting [at] home, so it’s fun,” said Pastrnak. “We shouldn’t let these last couple weeks take us down, you know? We worked hard the whole season for this, to make playoffs.
“We made them, made the first step, you know, and then there’s the second step ahead of us. We need to start work and prepare for Toronto.”
That’s exactly the kind of seasoned pro answer that everybody has come to expect from Pastrnak, who should no longer be the wide-eyed neophyte when the puck drops for his second career Stanley Cup playoff series on Thursday night. Instead it’s time for Pastrnak to be the guy striking fear into opponents with his dangerous one-timer, rapid skating speed and ability to finish off crafty, little plays started by Bergeron and Marchand.
