David Pastrnak helped recruit intriguing Bruins free-agent signing

It turns out that David Pastrnak actually did a bit of recruiting for the Boston Bruins in free agency.

Fortunately, it wasn't Pastrnak that implored Don Sweeney to ink Tanner Jeannot to a five-year deal, or trade for oft-injured veteran Viktor Arvidsson, or bring back old friend Sean Kuraly. But he did have a conversation with one of his fellow countrymen, and perhaps the only signing that carries any sort of intrigue.

That would be 25-year-old Czech winger Matěj Blümel, who signed with the Bruins on Tuesday after three seasons in the Dallas Stars organization. Dallas has had no shortage of dynamic, productive, and above all experienced wings in recent seasons, and so there's been little room for Blümel to crack the NHL lineup. Instead, he's been lighting up the AHL -- 178 points in 197 games over the past three seasons, including most recently a 39-goal campaign in 67 games in 2024-25.

But where's Blümel been leading up to that? He originally came stateside at age 17 to play for the Waterloo Blackhawks, and broke out with a 30-30 season in 52 games. That would be his last season in juniors, as the Oilers drafted him 100th overall in 2019. But after three seasons for Pardubice in the Czech League, Blümel ended up not signing with Edmonton, and went to Dallas instead.

Fast-forward three years, and Blümel is now a Bruin. And apparently, Pastrnak helped make it happen. According to Dominik Dubovci at the Czech website Hokej.cz, Blümel said he spoke with Pastrnak prior to signing with the Bruins, and that No. 88 ultimately helped convince him to choose Boston over Pittsburgh.

"The only Czech player I've talked to so far was Pasta," Blümel said, according to a rough Google translation. "He left the decision up to me, and Pittsburgh wouldn't be a bad decision either. But he said they wanted me and that I could help them."

^{Matěj Blümel}

Blümel also said he had talked to the Stars, Los Angeles Kings, Winnipeg Jets, Detroit Red Wings, and Utah Mammoth as a free agent. So, there was obviously interest in his services beyond just the Bruins. He ultimately signed a one-year, $875,000 one-way contract with the B's. The fact that he'll make the same money at the AHL level suggests that he'll have a real chance to play in Boston more than he did in Dallas.

His sample size with the Stars is certainly quite small, but Blümel does have some promising underlying metrics. His 17 shots on goal in 13 games for Dallas, despite averaging just over nine minutes of ice time, are impressive. His 12.6 on-ice high-danger chances per 60 minutes, among all forwards with at least 100 minutes of ice time since 2022-23, ranks in the top-100 in the league -- 91st, just ahead of Bo Horvat and just behind Miles Wood (via Natural Stat Trick).

If Blümel were some kind of mind-blowing hidden gem, Dallas probably would've found a way to keep him in the first place. But he's got good bulk at 6 feet and 205 pounds, and he's shown potential in terms of generating offensive chances. On this Bruins roster, he should have a strong opportunity to carve out a role, possibly in the middle-six.

And if this kid pans out, we will have Pastrnak to thank.