The Boston Bruins announced Saturday, after a stirring 4-3 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs, that the team has signed forward Pavel Zacha to a 4-year contract extension through the 2026-27 season with an annual NHL cap hit of $4.75 million.
The 25-year-old forward has appeared in 42 games with the Bruins this season, registering five goals and 20 assists for 25 points with a plus 11 rating. The 6-foot-4, 200-pound center has played in 428 career NHL games with Boston and New Jersey, totaling 74 goals and 130 assists for 204 points.
The Brno, Czech Republic native was acquired by the Bruins on July 13, 2022, in an off-season trade for forward Erik Haula. New Jersey originally selected Zacha in the first round (6th overall) of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.
Zacha was to become a restricted free agent after the season but now will be a core member of the Bruins for the next four seasons. The team is still negotiating with leading goal scorer David Pastrnak on a potential new contract. Zacha is a natural center and should be looked upon to fill the void left by the possible departures of Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci after this season.
The Bruins are currently in first place in the Atlantic Division with 70 points (33-5-4), 11 points ahead of second-place Toronto. Boston will face the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday afternoon in Boston, where they have lost just one home game in regulation all season.
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