Marat Is Staying: Bruins Lock Up Khusnutdinov for Three More Years
Three years, $11.85 million, $3.95 million a season. Number 92 isn't going anywhere, and that's a great day for the Black and Gold.
Bruins fans, I told you so. Okay, I'll try not to gloat too much, but just last week I wrote right here that Boston should pay Marat Khusnutdinov now and not wait for summer. Well, Don Sweeney must have been reading, because on Wednesday, October 21, the Bruins signed number 92 to a three-year contract extension.
Here are the numbers: three years, $11.85 million total, which works out to $3.95 million a season against the cap. The new deal starts next season, 2027-28, and runs through the end of 2029-30. So Marat is ours for this season plus three more. I love it.
Why this is a big raise, and why he earned it
Right now Khusnutdinov is finishing a two-year deal that pays him $925,000 a season. That contract was signed in June 2025, and it expires after this year. Without an extension, he would have been a restricted free agent next July, with a chance to take things to a hearing. Instead, everybody gets certainty, and nobody has to sit in a room arguing about what he's worth.
Going from under a million to nearly four million a year is a big jump. But look at what he did last season. In 77 games, Marat put up career highs across the board: 15 goals, 18 assists and 33 points. He was third on the team in shooting percentage at 19.2 percent, which tells you he isn't just shooting a ton, he's picking his spots and burying them.
And who could forget January 10 against the Rangers? His first career NHL hat trick turned into a four-goal, five-point night in a 10-2 blowout. That's one of those games you remember for years. I still smile thinking about it.
Off to a strong start again
This season he's picked up right where he left off. Through 10 games, he has two goals and three assists for five points, and he's a plus-six, which puts him fourth among Bruins skaters. When he's on the ice, good things are happening for Boston, and that's exactly what you want from a guy you're about to pay.
The timing works too. The Bruins are 7-2-1 and riding a six-game point streak, and Marat has been part of that from night to night. Locking him up while the team is rolling just feels right.
Exactly the middle-six forward a contender needs
Let's be clear about what Khusnutdinov is, because it's a compliment. He's a middle-six forward, and a really good one. He can play left wing, right wing or center. He can slide up the lineup when someone gets hurt, then drop back down and drive his own line without missing a beat. He kills plays, he skates hard every shift, and he chips in offense.
Every team that makes a real run in the spring has a few players like that. They don't always get the headlines, but they're the reason the lineup doesn't fall apart when injuries hit in February. Coaches trust them, and teammates love playing with them.
Is $3.95 million the right price?
I think it's a fair deal for both sides, and maybe a little bit of a win for Boston. Last week I said something in the four-to-six-million range made sense, and the Bruins landed at the low end of it. For a 24-year-old coming off a 33-point season, who plays three positions and helps on both ends of the ice, that number is going to look good as the salary cap keeps going up.
Three years is also a smart term. It covers what should be the best years of his career, from age 25 through 27, and it gives Boston cost certainty while the young core of Minten, Hagens and company keeps growing. Nobody is locked into anything scary, and Marat gets a well-deserved payday.
The trade that keeps on giving
Remember how he got here? Back on March 6, 2025, the Bruins sent Justin Brazeau to Minnesota and got back Khusnutdinov, Jakub Lauko and a sixth-round pick. At the time, plenty of fans weren't sure what to make of it. Now Marat is a fixture in the lineup with a new contract. That one has aged really well.
Minnesota originally picked him in the second round, 37th overall, in 2020. Across his NHL career with the Wild and the Bruins, he now has 23 goals and 31 assists for 54 points in 178 regular-season games, and he's still getting better.
Bottom line
This is the kind of move good teams make. You find a player who fits, he proves it on the ice, and you pay him before things get complicated. Marat is staying in Boston, the price is fair, and the Bruins have one less question mark for next summer.
Now, Don, about Lohrei... 😉
Congrats, Marat. Go Bruins! 🐻