The Bruins wasted no time locking in Ivan Ivan after bringing him aboard, signing the 23-year-old forward to a one-year, two-way contract extension.
The deal comes with a league-minimum NHL salary of $850K. Puckpedia reported the AHL side of the contract is worth $150K, with a $190K guarantee. Ivan is represented by Allan Walsh of Octagon Hockey.
Boston acquired Ivan on Saturday in a trade that sent 2021 first-round pick Fabian Lysell the other way. By moving quickly to extend him, the Bruins trimmed one more pending free agent from the market ahead of a key open-market stretch that begins Wednesday.
Ivan’s path has been a long climb. He was once a standout in the QMJHL with the Cape Breton Eagles, then spent the last three seasons in the Avalanche organization at the pro level. His 2023-24 season in Colorado was a strong one for an undrafted player: 12 goals and 31 points in 67 games for the AHL’s Colorado Eagles, enough to put him in position for NHL looks the following year.
He got those chances, skating in 40 NHL games for Colorado and collecting eight points. But his role was narrow - he averaged just 10:02 of ice time per game - and that limited usage carried over into a choppy AHL season, where he managed 12 points in 36 games and never really got into a groove.
As Colorado’s depth improved for 2025-26, the NHL opportunities dried up. Ivan appeared in only nine NHL games that season.
Still, he found his footing again in the AHL, finishing the regular season with 11 goals and 26 points before catching fire in the playoffs. He added 15 points in 17 games as the Eagles pushed all the way to the Western Conference Final.
That playoff surge is likely what caught Boston’s attention. Ivan gives the Bruins another option for Providence while also providing a call-up possibility for the NHL club. Whether he can turn that into something more permanent at the top level is the next question, and training camp in the fall will be his first chance to start answering it.
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Bruins May Not Be Done Shaking Up This Roster
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Pavel Zacha is the most notable one to watch, especially after a strong season that reminded everyone how important he can be in a top-six role. Mason Lohrei and Joonas Korpisalo are also being mentioned as possible trade candidates as the Bruins continue to balance age, upside, and performance with the realities of the roster they want to build. [Read more 🡒]
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Anderssons name is likely to keep circulating in Boston circles because the Bruins have shown interest before, and the fit on the back end is easy to imagine from a roster-building standpoint. The wrinkle is that nothing is settled yet, and any future pursuit would depend on a lot of moving parts lining up at the right time. For now, it remains one of those offseason threads that hangs over the team until the market clarifies and Boston decides how aggressively it wants to keep chasing a familiar target. [Read more 🡒]