from Michael Traikos at the Toronto Sun,

Now, with Pastrnak’s current deal running out, the question is how much will he get paid as an unrestricted free agent this summer.

The Bruins winger, who is on pace for a career-best 64 goals and 116 points, is probably not going to challenge Connor McDavid for the scoring title. But Pastrnak does have a good chance of passing the Oilers captain — and Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon — as the highest-paid player in the league.

That is, if Pastrnak doesn’t do something foolish and takes another hometown discount.

That is what happened six years ago. Coming off a breakout season where he scored 34 goals and 70 points in 2016-17, Pastrnak accepted a team-friendly deal that carried a $6.666-million cap hit. Even back then, it was well below market value.

Now, with 89 players earning more than the 26-year-old sniper, his six-year, $40-million contract looks even worse.

It is another way of saying that Pastrnak is due for a big raise. How big will be determined by whether he wants to go against the Bruins’ internal motto of taking less for the greater good — or if he wants to test the open market. After all, for how little Pastrnak earns, he still remains the highest-paid forward on a team where Marchand only earns $6.125-million and captain Patrice Bergeron is significantly underpaid at $2.5-million.

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