As the saying goes, “Signings tend to come in threes.”
Just a few hours after the Bruins signed both Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci to one-year contracts, the B’s took care of the one few remaining dominoes that had yet to fall in their offseason plans — inking restricted free agent Pavel Zacha to a one-year contract with an annual cap hit of $3.5 million.
Zacha, who was acquired from the Devils in a one-for-one swap for Erik Haula last month, was expected to go to arbitration with the Bruins later this week in order to settle his payout for the 2022-23 season. By signing at the dotted line on Monday, Zacha and the Bruins avoid arbitration — and the 25-year-old forward will then become an unrestricted free agent next summer.
Zacha, who earned $3 million in base salary last season in his final year with New Jersey, was awarded with a slight bump in pay that we predicted last month — although the length of his new contract with the Bruins does stand as a bit of a surprise.
With Bergeron, Krejci and Zacha accounting for a combined cap hit (not including bonuses) of $7 million, the Bruins are officially operating above the NHL’s cap ceiling of $82.5 million — with @BruinsCapSpace listing the B’s at $1.8 million over the upper limit.
Zacha reportedly signing 1 x $3.5M per Puck Pedia. Would put Bruins about $1.8M over the cap. LTIR is current the solution until those players return. https://t.co/wpPhpgv3Yw pic.twitter.com/ci2mgGP211
— Bruins Cap Space (@BruinsCapSpace) August 8, 2022
BSJ Analysis
The pay isn’t much of a surprise for Zacha, but Boston opting to settle for a one-year deal with the young forward stands as a bit of a gamble.
If Zacha was looking for a heftier raise, perhaps this one-year, “prove-it” deal stands as a concession by both parties — putting the ball in Zacha’s court to elevate his play this season in hopes of a lucrative summer in 2023-24 as a free agent.
For a Bruins team that’s clearly looking at one more run with Bergeron/Krejci in place, perhaps getting a motivated Zacha operating a high level in search of his sought-after payday falls in line with their short-term plan for going all in this season — even if such a move runs the risk of Zacha pricing himself out of Boston if he does indeed thrive this year with the B’s.
Even if a natural center like Zacha may not earn top-six minutes down the middle due to Bergeron/Krejci’s return, he could still earn heavy reps on the wing with Brad Marchand on the shelf through the end of November – and even an entrenched spot on a third line with the likes of Charlie Coyle and Craig Smith should benefit a player with Zacha’s skillset.
Boston does have a lot of money coming off the books next season, so it could be in a position to sign Zacha long-term next summer if he does answer the bell. But with David Pastrnak and Jeremy Swayman also due for new deals — coupled with the likelihood of Bergeron/Krejci’s bonus overages carrying over into next year’s payroll — a lot of that fiscal wiggle room could dry up in a hurry.
Short-term, a one-year, $3.5 million contract for Zacha gives Boston the flexibility to clean house next season with another expiring contract — while operating just $1.8 million over the cap ceiling should be corrected with just one trade or buyout by the time Marchand/Charlie McAvoy return.
But if Zacha does excel and suddenly explodes for a 50+ point campaign, the Bruins will likely be kicking themselves that they didn’t lock the Czech product up for the foreseeable future before he hits the open market next July.