It’s been over 200 days since Bruins general manager Don Sweeney told me that [July 13] was actually the first day that the Bruins could’ve thrown a number at David Pastrnak and his camp, and that he would let me know via email if I was that interested or concerned in how the talks were going to go.

It was a good quip. Enough to make me think that Sweeney had this one in the bag and the victory lap at my expense was going to follow within the coming days. (Listen, if it meant that the Bruins’ best goal scoring talent since Esposito was going to be locked in for the next eight years, Sweeney could take a billion victory laps at my expense. I’d like to think my skin is thick enough to take one for the team, and my inbox has tons of available space for Sweeney’s messages.)

Well, it’s now February, my inbox has yet to receive a message from a ‘D. Sweeney’ with a Boston Bruins signature at the bottom, and Pastrnak remains without a deal beyond this upcoming season.

And, boy, is that getting a little unnerving.

• OK, ‘unnerving’ might be a tad hyperbolic, I admit.

  The fact that there’s been recent and consistent leakage from the likes of Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman and ESPN’s Emily Kaplan — both have reported that there’s been progress and that the sides continue to inch closer to finalizing a deal — is a positive sign that should calm any nerves you may have. These people do not dabble in shit-throwing, and that’s important to note when it comes to something like this. If they get something, and are comfortable to report it, it’s legitimate. There’s no guesstimates and “I think” when it comes to their wording.

  And like I’ve said from the jump as it relates to Pastrnak and the Bruins and his looming potential jump into unrestricted free agency, I just can’t see him leaving.

  The Bruins have to know what they have with Pastrnak, and they have to know that you don’t let talent like this walk out the door for free. It’s organizational malpractice.

  They also have the benefit of adding the all-important eighth year to any Pastrnak contract, while the rest of the field can only come in with seven-year offers. That eighth year provides the Bruins with a significant advantage when it comes to the payday that will take Pastrnak into his mid-30s. Unless someone gets absolutely stupid with their contract offer and its yearly cap hit (I’m talking like $13.5 million per year), it’ll be almost impossible to beat what the B’s will offer in total dollars.

  And perhaps most importantly, Pastrnak has given absolutely no indication that this is not a place he would want to be or that he’d like to leave Boston after the 2022-23 season.

• 

  Dec 3, 2022; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins right wing David Pastrnak (88) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal against the Colorado Avalanche during the second period at TD Garden. (Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports)

• But still, I can’t help but come back to this past summer and feel a slight sense of uneasiness. Not because of what Pastrnak and his camp led by J.P. Barry may or may not decide this month, next, or in June or July, but the game that the Bruins find themselves in right now.

  In 200 days, we have gone from thinking a $9.5 million cap hit would be a good deal to $10.5 million looking like a win, to $11.5 million or $12 million looking like a mere inevitability at this point, as Pastrnak’s decision to bet on himself is looking like a monster victory for No. 88 and his camp.

  Coming out of All-Star Game weekend, only the Oilers’ Connor McDavid has lit more lamps than Pastrnak through the first half of the 2022-23 season (41 goals for No. 97 and 38 for Pastrnak), and considering McDavid is scoring at what would be 150-point (at least) pace, that’s saying something.

  The Bruins know it’s a path that’s only accelerating Pastrnak towards signing the richest contract in team history. In fact, it’s already been on the table, according to sources I’ve talked with.

  But that already-gigantic number is only going up, and I have little reason to think it’ll drop.

  By now, we all know what Pastrnak can do. He’s been doing it for years. This isn’t a ‘contract year’ boom as much as it’s a contract year exclamation point in a career that’s been full of them. Since signing what immediately became a wildly team-friendly contract in 2017, Pastrnak ranks fifth in goals (219) and 10th in points (453). Only Leon Draisaitl has scored more power-play goals, and Pastrnak’s 1.16 points per game ranks 9th among players with at least 300 games played.

  Unless he wakes up with a curse or some sort of hex that sets him back seven years, he will continue to be a top-five scoring threat in this league, and a top-15 producer in terms of overall point production.

  While everybody knows what Pastrnak can do and has done for the Bruins, finding that finish line before he truly makes a ‘Rocket’ race out of it with McDavid would be swell, I’d say.

• 

  Oct 22, 2022; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins right wing David Pastrnak (88) shoots the puck during the first period against the Minnesota Wild at TD Garden. (Paul Rutherford/USA TODAY Sports)

• And as his on-ice numbers continue to go up, the odds of this future average annual value on the Bruins’ books getting into what you might consider ‘uncomfortable’ territory for the Bruins do the same.

  For the record, I am firmly entrenched on Team Blank Check. I’ve been there, actually. Ordered snacks and everything because I ain’t leaving. I simply don’t think you let players of this caliber walk, nor do I trust Sweeney and the Bruins to spend the money they’d save on saying no to Pastrnak on comparable talent. Especially when it comes to replacing his scoring. That’s just something this organization has not been able to properly identify at any point throughout this front office’s tenure.

  But I’m also not ignorant to the realities facing the Bruins around the corner.

  While Patrice Bergeron is somehow looking legitimately ageless (no, seriously, he’s somehow looking better than he did a year ago when he was putting forth his best two-way season ever), the Bruins remain a team in need of a high-end center down the road. Those tend to cost a whooooooole lot of money, and the level of center you’re adding to the mix is vastly different if Pastrnak is at say $13 million per year opposed to $11 million or so. It may not seem like much, but when you’re a cap ceiling team, maximizing every cent is a must.

  I know this is a topic that’s come up in the past, too. One report last summer hinted at Pastrnak being unwilling to re-sign in Boston until he knew who would be his center moving forward. Me? I don’t buy that. First of all, that’s just not a realistic demand. Barring some full-on tampering, how is a general manager supposed to guarantee a center before knowing who’s available to him on either the trade or free agent market? Secondly, it doesn’t jive with what Pastrnak told me last fall when I asked him about what many would consider chief concerns regarding a potential extension with the Bruins.

  “I think Boston is known for [contending]. Even if they weren’t exactly like [the favorite] before the season, I think Boston is always a contender,” Pastrnak said when I asked him about the importance of the Bruins remaining a contender throughout the life of a potential extension. “You know, it always starts [in the] playoffs, just all you need to do is make the playoffs pretty much every year and then anything can happen in playoffs, right? L.A. won twice from the wild card. I don’t worry about it because I know Boston is going to be a playoff team for a long time.”

• 

  Feb 4, 2023; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Atlantic Division forward David Pastrnak (88) of the Boston Bruins reacts after scoring a goal against the Central Division during the 2023 NHL All-Star Game at FLA Live Arena. (Jasen Vinlove/USA TODAY Sports)

• But the Bruins’ undeniable need for a long-term resolution at center is yet another reason why the Bruins need to wrap these negotiations up as soon as they can.

  The Bruins were into Canuck-turned-Islander Bo Horvat.

  Now, could they have made a trade happen? It would’ve taken some NHL roster movement that I’m not sure that the Bruins were overly comfortable with, but if they wanted him enough, it could’ve been done. No matter the ‘how’ of you got him here, he was a player that was of significant interest to the club now and in the future.

  Well, the future took an eight-year dive Sunday with New York’s signing of Horvat to an eight-year extension worth $68 million in total ($8.5 million average annual value). The Bruins will get their next shot at Horvat in 2031, when hockey is played at 3-on-3 (and on the moon) and with the salary cap somehow still flat.

  I can’t help but feel as if the Bruins could’ve or would’ve made a harder push for Horvat if they knew what Pastrnak was clocking in at on the books for the eight seasons that come after this one. It just makes the entire algebra equation easier to manage for the Black and Gold.

  It would’ve taken half the battle out of the ‘How are you going to fit both Pastrnak and Horvat on your books in 2023-24 and beyond?’ question that came up every single time Horvat to the Bruins was mentioned.

  The Bruins will run into that question with every possible long-term option out there until Pastrnak is signed.

• 

  Jan 2, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Bruins right wing David Pastrnak (88) walks onto the ice for warm-ups before a game against the Penguins in the 2023 Winter Classic at Fenway Park. (Paul Rutherford/USA TODAY Sports)

• But while math is an issue, attracting talent will not be so long as you have Pastrnak on your roster.

  He’s a rockstar in a league where you need rockstars to win a championship.

  Simply put, players will want to be here if they know No. 88 is riding on their right throughout his prime. I mean, hey, it was enough to lure David Krejci back to Boston and for a cool million dollars.

  And the Bruins already know and experience what Pastrnak means to their team before he even takes the ice.

  “I think it keeps everybody loose,” Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery said of Pastrnak’s presence ahead of the 2023 Winter Classic at Fenway Park. “I think it allows them to live and learn from him. I mean, he is such a creative mind on the ice and look at the way he dresses. I think he helps us be who we are.

  “If you look at Bruins swagger, you look at David Pastrnak.”

  Now comes putting everyone at ease and watching that swagger cross the finish line with the Bruins, and with a freshly-signed contract extension in hand (or in my inbox).

  We’ve all waited long enough.

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