Mavrik Bourque rewarded with massive multi-year contract

Mavrik Bourque agrees to a six-year, $5.5M deal with Nashville.

Saturday night, Elliotte Friedman dropped the number that changes the math in Nashville's forward group for the rest of the decade.

Six years. $5.5 million a year. That's $33 million in term for a player who was making $950,000 on his previous deal.

A raise of $4,550,000 annually is not a small bump. That's a franchise betting its middle six on a 24-year-old who just proved he belongs.

Bourque put up 20 goals and 21 assists for 41 points in 82 games this season, his first full run as a full-time NHL center.

He was flying down the stretch too. Five goals and two assists over his last 10 games, seven points in that stretch alone.

Compare that to his previous cap hit and the deal makes sense on paper. But term is where the risk lives, and six years is a long runway for a player still building his NHL resume.

Why Nashville is buying in now

Chris MacFarland and the Predators front office are locking in cost certainty before Bourque's next deal gets even more expensive.

Nashville finished this season at 38-34-10, good for 86 points and 24th overall, a disappointing year given the expectations in that building.

The Predators scored 247 goals and allowed 269, a negative goal differential that head coach Andrew Brunette has to fix if this roster wants to matter next spring.

Bourque was a bright spot in a mostly frustrating season. He's plus-6 on a team that finished with more losses than wins.

Is $5.5 million the right number for a player who has one 41-point season on his resume? Nashville clearly thinks so, and they're not waiting around to find out if the price goes up.

The bet now shifts to usage. Bourque's role, his ice time, and where he lines up on Brunette's depth chart will tell the real story of whether this contract ages well or turns into a cautionary tale by year three.