Bruins sign Pastrnak

BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Bruins are hoping to build off last season when they reached the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in three seasons. They took a step in the right direction by signing forward David Pastrnak to a six-year contract worth $40 million on Thursday. The team had been negotiating with the restricted free agent over the summer. Pastrnak had career highs with 34 goals, 70 points and a plus-11 last season. “I always said we were going to find a deal,” Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said at a news conference at Warrior Ice Arena. “There was a strong level of communication. And I just think the work paid off for both sides to find a good landing spot.” A native of the Czech Republic, Pastrnak was a first-round pick in the 2014 draft. In his three-year NHL career, he’s registered 59 goals and 64 assists in 172 games. The 21-year-old will make $6.67 million a season. He’ll be the Bruins’ third highestpaid forward after centres David Krejci ($7.25 million) and Patrice Bergeron ($6.87 million). The Bruins are entering their first training camp under coach Bruce Cassidy, who led them to an 18-8-1 record and their first playoff berth since 2014 last season as the interim coach after the firing of Claude Julien. Cassidy described Pastrnak as a “dynamic” offensive player who is improving as a two-way player.