The Bruins continued their pre-lockout signing strategy Tuesday, agreeing with forward Tyler Seguin on a six-year, $34-million US contract extension.
Seguin, 20, led Boston with 29 goals and 67 points last season, and posted a plus-34 rating. In and out of the lineup as a rookie in 2010-11, when the Bruins won the Stanley Cup, Seguin cemented his place on the team last year, and played in the 2012 all-star game in Ottawa.
Seguin was the No. 2 overall pick by Boston in 2010, and had 22 points in his rookie season as Boston defeated Vancouver in seven games to win the Stanley Cup. The Bruins were eliminated last season in the first round by the Washington Capitals.
On Friday, they locked up forward Brad Marchand to a new, four-year deal. The feisty Marchand, 24, a key cog in the Bruins' run to the 2011 Cup, will make $4.5 million per season, starting in 2013-14. He is scheduled to make $3 million in the coming season, the last of his twoyear contract.
Seguin's salary begins with a $4.5 million salary in 2013-14 and ends with a salary of $6.5 million in 2018-19. The contract averages $5.75 million per year.
"We've tried to be relatively proactive in extending contracts for guys prior to the start of the season and we're trying to keep our core together," Boston general manager Peter Chiarelli said Friday. "It's part and parcel of that in what we're trying to do.
"It may fly in the face of the labour situation at this time, but we feel very strongly in the core of our team," he said. "[They're] players that we know and I think that's important: Players that we know, that have given us service."
Despite his youth, Seguin thinks he can be a leader on the Bruins.
"I adapt to new situations well. I'm a confident player," he said during a conference call with Chiarelli. "I feel like I've settled in. ... I don't look at my age as a factor. I want to be a leader even at the age of 20."
Chiarelli is impressed by Seguin's development in his two seasons.
"He's a young, exciting player," Chiarelli said.
