The Penguins made a loud statement with Ville Koivunen, and the ripple effect could reach Boston.
Pittsburgh signed the restricted free agent to an eight-year, $32 million contract with a $4 million annual average value, a deal that immediately resets the market in a way the Bruins can’t ignore. If Boston had any interest in locking up Marat Khusnutdinov or Fraser Minten long term before next summer, the price tag may have just climbed.
Both forwards are on track to become RFAs after the 2026-27 season, which puts them in the same neighborhood of contract timing as Koivunen’s new deal. For the Bruins, that means any early extension talks would now have a fresh benchmark sitting right there in the NHL’s window.
Koivunen is 23 and has spent this past season split between the NHL and AHL, appearing in 39 NHL games and 34 AHL games. In his NHL career, he’s now up to 47 games played.
This season, he finished with two goals and seven points. Across his career, he has five additional assists for a total of 47 games, two goals, 10 assists and 12 points.
His AHL production has been elite, but as always, that kind of success doesn’t automatically carry over to the NHL. Even so, Pittsburgh clearly believes enough to commit eight years and $32 million to an unproven player, a major bet at a $4 million cap hit.
With the cap continuing to rise, the Penguins’ gamble may not look outrageous for long. For now, though, it lands as one of the more striking RFA extensions of the season - and a deal Boston has every reason to notice.
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What makes the decision harder to ignore now is where Bussi ended up after leaving Boston, and what happened once he got there. His path took an unexpected turn from Florida to Carolina, and he wound up playing a meaningful role in the Hurricanes' run to the Stanley Cup, giving the Bruins another reminder that a goaltending move can look very different once the games matter most. [Read more 🡒]