There is no denying that the future is bright for Fraser Minten.
The 22-year-old center had 17 goals and 35 points in his first full NHL season, played all 82 games, and pushed up into reps as the No. 1 center and a power-play guy later in the season after proving himself as a young 200-foot center with some real maturity to his game. He built on that with an impressive performance for Team Canada at the World Championships, where he served as an offensively capable bottom-6 center on a roster full of veteran NHL star-types.
It’s to the point where Don Sweeney specifically pointed out Minten as a young player they want to lock up – along with Marat Khusnutdinov -- to a long-term contract extension to keep in Black and Gold for the foreseeable future.
“I've said all along we have to forecast, and my discussions now turn to whether or not Fraser [Minten] is ready for his extension, whether or not Khusy [Marat Khusnutdinov] is ready for an extension, [Pavel] Zacha… so we have to forecast to that degree,” said Sweeney back on July 1. “That's what we're trying to do in balancing and building the best team we possibly can for today, moving forward.
“At the end of the day, timing is everything. A deal comes when the player is happy and the agent says this is a good deal, but we've been adamant that we're going to have the conversations and hopefully we do get to that point [where extensions are happening].”
Best of all, Minten was stepping up as a mature, levelheaded young leader on the Bruins that looks and feels like somebody that’s going to be part of Boston’s core group for a long time and might have what it takes to step into the frontline center spot that’s essentially been vacant since Patrice Bergeron retired.
“You want to continue to establish what you are as a hockey player, but, that [growth] mindset, I don't think you should lose. I think that's one thing that goes south for guys, so try to keep that hungry mindset and keep trying to establish myself as well,” said Minten. “[Being a frontline center] is big minutes for everybody that's in there. Those guys [Pavel Zacha] [Elias Lindholm] are [on the] power play and on penalty kill, and if those players don't play well, it's usually a loss. You see how integral all those pieces are to winning teams and I’m trying to learn from them and watch them and want to be one of those guys myself [in the future].”
The whole thing also had many wondering what kind of price tag that Minten contract was going to amount to as mega-dollars are being handed out to young players across the league with an elevated salary cap ceiling inflating the dollar amounts. Certainly, Minten will get a substantial raise from his current entry-level deal that has him earning $879,166 this coming season.
But some in the media speculated that Minten would command as much as $7 million on a long-term deal if the Bruins tried to lock him up for an eight-year max deal before those become extinct under the new CBA taking effect in mid-September. While it might be possible that Minten’s extension gets into the $6-7 million range for AAV (average annual value) if he gets a max term deal, there have been some contracts signed in recent days that shed light on the market that is developing for both Minten and Khusnutdinov.
And giving 22-year-old Minten a rich $7 million per year contract is awfully risky for a player that still has a lot to prove offensively after finishing with significantly less points than the much-maligned Elias Lindholm. That being said, it will be bigger dollar values for the more UFA years that the Bruins buy Minten out of with the eventual term of the contract.
Collin Graf re-signed with the San Jose Sharks on Friday for a three-year contract worth $4.25 million per season, with the 23-year-old coming off a season in San Jose where he potted 21 goals and 46 points in 81 games for the up-and-coming Sharks team. The Lincoln, Mass., native has a slightly different background from Minten: he was an undrafted player out of Quinnipiac who signed as a free agent with San Jose, and Graf is a right wing rather than a full-service center like Minten.
Collin Graf has signed a 3 YR $4.25M AAV deal with the Sharks 💸
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) July 31, 2026
The Undrafted 23 year old broke out for 21G-25A-46P in 81GP this season 🔥 pic.twitter.com/BLz9h7498T
Still, in terms of statistical production, the service time for the players and their age puts Graf