Khusnutdinov extension is fair if the shooting holds up
Boston gives the 24-year-old winger three years at $3.95 million starting in 2027-28, more than four times his current cap hit.
The number: 3.5. That's the share, in percent, of next season's projected $113.5 million ceiling that Marat Khusnutdinov will take up when his new deal starts. For a 24-year-old winger coming off a 15-goal season, that's a fair price, with one asterisk attached to how he scored them.
Boston signed Khusnutdinov to a three-year, $11.85 million extension on Wednesday. It carries a $3.95 million cap hit from 2027-28 through 2029-30. It replaces the $925,000 he's earning this season and takes him off next summer's restricted free agent list.
What Boston is buying
Last season was his first full year in Boston: 15 goals and 33 points in 77 games, at about 14:30 a night. That's real middle-six production from a player the Bruins got for Justin Brazeau at the 2025 deadline.
Through 10 games this season he has two goals and five points. He started on the kids' line with Fraser Minten and James Hagens and has since moved up to the second line with Minten.
Here's the Ferda number that explains the role. He has played eight seconds of power-play time all season, per NHL data, while averaging 13.7 minutes a night. He kills penalties instead, a little over two minutes a game, so every point he produces comes at even strength or short-handed.
That's the case for the deal. Boston isn't paying for power-play points that vanish when a coach shuffles his units. It's paying for a penalty killer who can move up the lineup when Marco Sturm needs a body there.
The caveat
He shot 19.2 percent last season, and this season he has two goals on 10 shots. Those are hot numbers for a winger who never sees the power play. Shooting percentages that high usually come back to earth over a full season.
If he settles in as a 10-goal player, $3.95 million is a little rich. If he stays near 15, it's team-friendly by year two, once the ceiling climbs. The short term limits the downside: the contract expires before he turns 30, so Boston isn't paying for decline years.
The comparables
Pittsburgh extended Tommy Novak in July for three years at $4.65 million, also starting in 2027-28. Novak is 29 and had 16 goals and 26 points in 82 games last season. Boston got the younger player with more points for $700,000 less a year.
Montreal signed Zachary Bolduc in September for four years at $4.2 million, the same price band with one more year of exposure.
On Boston's own sheet, Minten's seven-year, $50.4 million extension works out to $7.2 million a season. Khusnutdinov costs a little more than half that to play on Minten's wing.
Contract card
- Term: three years, 2027-28 through 2029-30
- AAV: $3.95 million; total $11.85 million
- Current deal: $925,000, expires after this season (was headed for RFA)
- Share of the cap: about 3.5 percent of the projected $113.5 million ceiling for 2027-28
- Comparables: Tommy Novak, PIT, 3 years at $4.65M (July 2026); Zachary Bolduc, MTL, 4 years at $4.2M (Sept. 2026); Fraser Minten, BOS, 7 years at $7.2M (Sept. 2026)
- Verdict: fair now, team-friendly if the goals hold
What I'd watch
His shot volume. Ten shots in 10 games won't keep a 15-goal pace without another hot shooting year. If that number climbs toward two a night on the second line, Boston bought a bargain in October. If it doesn't, they bought a good penalty killer at a fair price, which is still a fine outcome.
