The Bruins and Marat Khusnutdinov are getting close on a new deal, according to Kevin Weekes, and it sounds like a multi-year extension is on the way for the young Russian forward.
It’s a fitting next step for a player who has steadily carved out a real role in Boston. Khusnutdinov has become a dependable middle-six piece, piling up 20 goals and 43 points in a little over 100 games with the club. He’s already added five more points through nine games this season in 2026-27, while Marco Sturm has leaned on him as a “Swiss Army Knife” in just about every situation.
Boston’s faith in him has grown because he’s shown he can handle a lot more than one job. Among Bruins under 24 since 2020, Khusnutdinov was one of just two players to post a 30-plus-point, 10-plus-goal season this decade.
The other was Fraser Minten, and neither player was originally drafted by the Bruins. Both earned bigger opportunities as the season went on, to the point that they spent a stretch skating with David Pastrnak and delivered a team-best 75% goals for percentage with a plus-10 goal differential as a line.
That kind of value has made Khusnutdinov a very good piece of business for Boston, especially when you look back at how he arrived. He came over as the overlooked part of the deal that sent Justin Brazeau to the Minnesota Wild, after falling out of favor in Minnesota because of a pretty limited NHL role there.
He first flashed what he could do during Boston’s rougher stretch in the second half of the 2024-25 season, when he looked like the sort of do-everything forward teams want in their lineup. In 18 games, he scored three goals and five points, then signed a two-year deal worth $1.85 million total, with a $925,000 annual cap hit, to stick around for two more seasons.
Last year, though, he had to earn every inch in a crowded Bruins bottom six that got a wave of NHL-ready additions in the 2025 offseason. There was real doubt about whether he would even make the team out of training camp, but he did - initially as the extra forward.
Once he got his chance, he made it hard for Boston to take him out of the mix. His game became more trusted, especially when the Bruins needed him late.
Fourteen of his goals in 2025-26 came after the start of the third period. He finished with 15 goals and 33 points in 77 NHL games, the most he had produced in a season so far, and the numbers backed up the reputation he was building.
He tied Pavel Zacha for the team lead with 22 takeaways and was one of only four Bruins who played a full season to finish above one takeaway per 60 minutes.
And then there was Jan. 10 against the New York Rangers, the night that blew the roof off the whole thing. At home, Khusnutdinov scored four goals and added an assist in a 10-2 Bruins win.
It was his first hat trick, and he became the first player to score four goals in a game without having recorded a multi-goal game before entering play since Auston Matthews on Oct. 12, 2016 and Sam Bennett on Jan. 13, 2016.
In Other News...
Bruins Have A Nikita Zadorov Problem They Cant Ignore
Bostons strong start has come with a familiar trade-off on the blue line, and Nikita Zadorov sits right in the middle of it. The Bruins have long valued his size, edge and ability to disrupt opponents, because when hes on, he can change the tone of a game in ways few defensemen can. But the early-season picture has been more complicated, with his play drawing scrutiny for the kind of undisciplined mistakes that can undo a good night in a hurry.
The concern is not just the penalties themselves, but the broader impact they have had on Bostons five-on-five play. The Bruins can live with some risk if Zadorov is tilting the ice in their favor, yet there has been a growing sense that the balance has been off lately, enough to lead to disciplinary scratches and renewed questions about how much rope he should get. For a team trying to build on its strong start, the issue is no longer whether Zadorov matters, but whether the Bruins can keep tolerating the version of him they have been getting. [Read more 🡒]
Bruins Turn To A Different Goalie In A Spot Fans Will Watch
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For a team trying to keep the momentum going, the goalie decision adds a little extra intrigue to a home matchup that arrives right after the travel grind. Jeremy Swayman handled most of the work on the road, so this start gives Boston a different look in a game fans will be watching closely to see how the crease lines up moving forward. [Read more 🡒]
Bruins Fast Start Is Starting To Feel Like Something Bigger
A West Coast trip can tell you a lot about a hockey team, and the Bruins came home looking every bit like a group that belongs in the conversation. Boston won three of four out west, swept through the three California stops and only missed a perfect trip by dropping an overtime decision to Dallas, a run that has already started to reshape how the rest of the league sees them.
The rankings bump followed quickly, with Boston climbing in both major national power lists, but the more interesting part is what comes next. The Bruins now get to bring that momentum back home for a stretch that includes Nashville and San Jose, a chance to see whether this fast start is merely a strong opening or the beginning of something sturdier. [Read more 🡒]