The Bruins have locked up Ivan Ivan for another season, agreeing Monday afternoon to a one-year contract extension with the pending restricted free agent forward.
Boston acquired Ivan from the Colorado Avalanche on June 27 in a deal that sent fellow forward prospect Fabian Lysell the other way. Ivan had already seen NHL action with Colorado, appearing in nine games during the 2025-26 regular season and picking up one assist.
The new deal is a two-way contract with an NHL cap hit of $850,000 for the 2026-27 season. After that, he’ll again be set to become an RFA.
An undrafted player, Ivan came up through the QMJHL with the Cape Breton Eagles before beginning his pro career with the AHL’s Colorado Eagles in 2023-24. He made an immediate impression there, putting up 31 points in 67 games as an AHL rookie and earning an entry-level NHL contract from the Avalanche in March 2024.
His next season was split between the AHL and NHL, with Ivan totaling five goals and eight points in his first 40 games with Colorado while adding 12 points in 36 games for the Eagles. In 2025-26, he posted 11 goals and 26 points in 66 regular-season games, then added three goals and 15 points in 17 contests during the 2026 Calder Cup Playoffs.
Before his pro career, the Ostrava, Czechia native represented his country at the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship, where he had one assist in seven games. He also became a viral curiosity for his repeated name, which TSN mistakenly listed as “Ivan Ivan Ivan”.
Boston had already tendered Ivan a qualifying offer before Monday’s 5 p.m. ET deadline. With his deal now in place, the Bruins have three RFAs left to sort out this summer: forwards Matt Poitras and Riley Duran, plus goaltender Luke Cavallin.
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Brent Burns coming back for another season added a familiar veteran layer to the mix, but the larger picture is still very much in motion. With Sakic active in the market and the Avalanche making multiple deals, the roster looks far from finished, and the next move could say a lot about how Colorado sees its window right now. [Read more 🡒]
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Another Avalanche Linked Pick Just Took An Unexpected New Turn
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For Avalanche fans, the wrinkle is less about where Hglander landed than how a previously connected asset keeps changing hands. Hglander is under contract through the 2027-28 season, and the move gives Nashville a player whose recent season was shaped by an ankle injury and a steep dip in production after a more productive year before that, making this one of those deals that could still look very different down the road. [Read more 🡒]