Pastrnak's historic pace proving he's worth every penny

Another game, another dazzling performance from David Pastrnak. 

The Bruins cruised to a 7-1 win at Anaheim on Sunday, thanks in large part to a four-point outing, including a hat trick, for the Czech winger. 

It was another big outing for No. 88 at the Honda Center as he had four goals against the Ducks and now teammate Hampus Lindholm in 2019.

"He's a special player," Lindholm told reporters, following Sunday's win. "The way he can move the puck and then put it in the back of the net, it's special. It's fun to have him on my side finally."

For Boston, it's certainly been fun to have Pastrnak on their side since selecting him 25th overall in the 2014 NHL Draft. Sunday's game served as yet another example of Pastrnak's brilliance as he picked up the 15th hat trick of his career (including playoffs), the first for the Bruins this season.

"Obviously, I had some good looks and I was able to capitalize," Pastrnak said. "I mean, games like this sometimes are good. Overall, unbelievable trip for us, and let's go home now."

He continued, "I mean, it'll never get old, scoring goals in the best league in the world. It's not easy. So, I will never take it for granted. Obviously, it's my job to score goals, but, you know, it still makes me happy."

It capped off a California trip that saw the Boston take down Pacific Division contenders in the Los Angeles Kings before taking care of the bottom-feeding Ducks and San Jose Sharks. In the three games, Pastrnak tallied eight points, seven of which were goals. 

He now has 32 goals in 40 games this season, sitting second in the league behind Connor McDavid's 33. Over 82 games, Pastrnak is on pace for 65.6 goals. No Bruin has even eclipsed 50 since Cam Neely did so on the number in 1993-94. The last time a Boston skater hit the 60-goal mark? Phil Esposito's 61 tallies in 1974-75.

Pastrnak has scored 40 twice, hitting the exact number last season after 48 in 2019-20 when he was on pace to pass 50 before COVID-19 cut the regular season short. 

Aside from his gaudy goals pace this season, the right-shot sniper is on a 118.9-point pace over 82 games. Brad Marchand was the last Bruins skater to hit 100 points when he reached the mark in 2018-19. The way Pastrnak is tracking as things stand right now, he would have the 12th-highest single-season total in franchise history, beating Bobby Orr's 117 points in 1971-72. It would mark the most since Adam Oats put up 142 in 1992-93.

So, it's no secret that Boston's star has outplayed his approximately $6.67 million average annual salary, which has been one of the best values in the league since the moment Pastrnak put pen to paper on the deal in 2017. 

In the final year of that contract, No. 88 continues to show he's due for a significant raise, proving he's among the league's best and deserving to be paid as such. 

Boston has had success in retaining key players on team-friendly deals. Whether it's Brad Marchand's $6.125 million average annual value, Patrice Bergeron's current $2.5 million salary, his previous $6.875 million salary or Pastrnak's current deal, general manager Don Sweeney and the Bruins have generally been able to avoid dolling out heavy contracts. 

But Charlie McAvoy bucked the trend in 2021, locking up a $9.5 million AAV for eight seasons, which put him on par with the market. It seems now the Bruins have no choice but to bend to the rising market values for players of Pastrnak's caliber. 

There were conflicting reports around the holidays about Boston and Pastrnak closing in on an eight-year deal that would hand him $11 million annually. While it remains to be seen how close the two sides truly are to a deal, the Bruins may just have to get comfortable with potentially agreeing to a deal north of McAvoy's salary, considering a comparable deal could be Artemi Panarin's $11.642 AAV with the New York Rangers.

Needless to say, if the Bruins envision themselves contending beyond a potential "last dance" type of season this year, they are going to need Pastrnak's services, which grow costlier by the day. For a homegrown franchise player, who can beat goaltenders every which way as he showed on each of his goals in Anaheim, it certainly seems like a worthwhile investment. 

“He’s like an artist, the different ways he scores," head coach Jim Montgomery said. "Everyone talks about the one-timers, but he scores off his front foot, his back foot, backhands, fakes. I would have broken my ankles if I was in the net for that breakaway one.”

And art can be expensive.