RDS just reported that contract negotiations between Pavel Zacha and the Bruins have stalled, with a gap separating the two sides.
The timing is awkward. Boston hosts Montreal tonight, and Zacha skated on the top line with John-Jason Peterka and David Pastrnak at this morning's skate.
RDS wrote that the talks are at a standstill. The report gives no numbers and no terms, so how wide that gap really is remains unknown.
The contract question around this team was already building. David Pagnotta raised the Pavel Zacha question with the Bruins on Tuesday, and fans wanted an answer.
Zacha's current deal carries a cap hit of less than $5 million and runs through this season, when he is set to become an unrestricted free agent. A stalled negotiation matters more with that clock running.
Meanwhile, he is producing. Zacha has 14 points in 17 games and a +7 rating, numbers that make the Bruins' top line work.
The team around him is humming too. Boston is 13-4-1, first in the Atlantic, and has won four straight.
Does the Dylan Larkin chatter change the Zacha picture?
Frank Seravalli put another center name in the Bruins' orbit this week. Nothing in either report connects Larkin to Zacha's talks, but the two stories now sit side by side.
Seravalli said Boston might be a team that could sneak into the Dylan Larkin conversation, adding that he knows the Bruins want to be in the mix. He also said he doesn't know why, since Boston isn't on Larkin's 10-team list. We covered that angle when Seravalli tied the Bruins to Larkin on Tuesday.
Chasing a center in Detroit while the one already on the top line has no new deal would be backwards. Zacha has earned a real offer, and the Bruins have the standings to prove they are not in a rush to retool.
Zacha takes the ice tonight against Montreal on the top line, still without an extension, and with a gap to close, according to RDS.
This article was written with the help of artificial intelligence, based on public reports and official sources.
What should the Bruins do about Pavel Zacha's contract?
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