Pavel Zacha keeps producing for the Bruins, and a new report says an extension before free agency is getting harder to see.

Boston dropped a 2-1 decision at Carolina on Tuesday night, and Zacha scored the lone goal on the power play. He logged 20:53 and put two shots on net.

Through 12 games this season, he has 3 goals and 5 assists for 8 points. He sits at a +5 rating.

The man advantage has been a real part of that. Zacha has one power-play goal and four power-play assists.

That makes the contract timing awkward. His $4,750,000 cap hit runs through 2026-27, he is set to be a UFA at expiry, and no extension has been signed.

Chris Johnston reports there is a number at which Boston would be happy to extend him, but the market is shifting leverage toward players.

Read that again. The Bruins want him, they have a price in mind, and the report still makes a deal sound difficult to land. When leverage moves, the player's price moves with it.

Don Sweeney faces a clock with a first-place roster

The Bruins are 9-3-1 with 19 points, third in the NHL and first in the Atlantic Division. Their goal differential is +21.

That is not a team waiting around for answers. It is a team that looks like a contender, and general manager Don Sweeney has to decide whether Zacha is part of the plan beyond this season.

Zacha is 29 and was drafted sixth overall by the Devils in 2015. Over his NHL career, he has 413 points in 717 games.

Waiting on a contract like this is like leaving a house unlocked in a neighborhood where prices keep climbing. Every strong week from Zacha raises the number Boston has to hit.

Marco Sturm's group travels to St. Louis on Thursday. Every shift Zacha plays between now and free agency makes his next contract more expensive for Boston.

So does the number Boston has in mind still match the number Zacha can ask for next summer?