- Fraser Minten says a long-term deal in Boston would be “super appealing”
- The Bruins have until Sept. 15 to hand him eight years before the new CBA cuts the max to seven
- Read below for Minten’s full comments and what Marco Sturm wants out of him this season
Fraser Minten wants to stay in Boston, and he is not being coy about it.
The 22-year-old center told Jim McBride of The Boston Globe that the contract sitting in front of him has been on his mind. McBride asked whether he would want to sign long term with the Bruins.
“Boston has done nothing but treat me super well and I really enjoy wearing the logo. So, that would be something that would be super appealing to me for sure.”
His entry-level deal has one year left on it, which makes him a restricted free agent next summer. He has been eligible to sign an extension since July 1.
There is a real deadline on this one. The current CBA runs out Sept. 15, and the new agreement drops the maximum term from eight years to seven for a club re-signing its own player. If Boston wants that eighth year on Minten, Don Sweeney has about two weeks left to get it signed.
Sweeney has already shown he would rather move early than wait, locking up Pavel Zacha earlier this month instead of letting it drag into the season.
Minten’s rookie year made the argument for him. He played all 82 games, scored 17 goals, finished with 35 points and posted a plus-21, all while killing penalties and eventually sliding up next to David Pastrnak on the top line.
He was asked what that plus-minus number says about the way he plays.
“I like being a guy that’s reliable and versatile, a guy that can be trusted to be out there at the end of the games, at the start of games, whenever.”
Marco Sturm wants another gear out of him. Boston’s head coach, who has been blunt with his young forwards all summer, laid out the mindset he expects from Minten this season. Watch Sturm explain it:
Home for the summer in Vancouver, Minten has been training and skating ahead of camp. Boston sent a camera crew out to British Columbia in July to follow him and Tanner Jeannot around. Here is that episode:
Camp opens in Boston in less than a month. Minten says he is happy to let the contract sort itself out while he trains, which is easy enough for him to say. Sweeney is the one staring at Sept. 15.
