Contract years can be tricky for players. The pressure to perform and cash in with a big payday can be a distraction, and it can throw guys off their game.

You would think Nathan Horton’s situation would be even more complicated. Not only is he entering the final year of his current deal and set to become an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career, but he also has to prove he can stay healthy enough to be worth a team’s investment. 

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the happy-go-lucky Horton doesn’t see it that way. After suffering season-ending concussions from Aaron Rome and Tom Sestito in 2011 and 2012, respectively, and missing nearly a calendar year between his second concussion and the NHL lockout, Horton puts his next contract a bit lower on his list of priorities. His first priority was getting back on the ice, and his second priority was showing that he’s still got what made him the third overall pick in the 2003 draft.

“I'm just happy to be back,” he told WEEI.com Thursday. “Going through what I did and not being able to play was the toughest part of my life. As long as I'm back playing, that's all I care about now.”

While Horton isn’t thinking about years or dollars, he does know one thing he wants regarding his next contract: He wants it to be with the Bruins. 

Since being traded to Boston from the Panthers in June of 2010, Horton -- the same Horton who admitted to struggling with motivation while in Florida and had a reputation for dogging it -- has embraced playing in Boston like few athletes in recent memory. It’s common for players to wax poetic about what a special sports town it is, but the enthusiasm Horton has shown since arriving in Boston has been sincere. So when he says he wants to remain with the B’s, it’s more than just politically correct free-agent-to-be talk.  

“I love it here,” Horton said. “I love the guys. It's a great team with great [people]. I talk about it all the time. Everyone gets along, so I'd love to [be back].

“It's a big difference coming from where I came from. The pressure to play every night -- the expectation is to win every game. That's what it's all about. You want to come into the game knowing you've got to win it and you're going to win it. I think that's the way everybody thinks here. It's a totally different [atmosphere]. That's why it's so fun to play here. Everyone's so passionate, and it's all about winning.“

Horton is in the final year of a six-year, $24 million contract he signed with the Panthers in June of 2007. With so much to be proven both health-wise and production-wise, it’s very unclear what type of deal he will end up commanding, and whether his cap hit will be north or south of the $4 million for which his current pact calls. 

If Horton does command something sizable, the B’s might need to move some money around. The Bruins are currently set to have $7.12 million in cap space (or over $11.1 million if they put Marc Savard on long-term injury reserve) prior to next season, with Tuukka Rask, Andrew Ference, Horton and Anton Khudobin unsigned headed into 2013-14. Rask is obviously the biggest priority, and his deal should dictate what kind of spending freedom Peter Chiarelli will have regarding the others. 

Horton isn’t thinking about that now though, as the only good thing to come of his two straight concussions is the fact that his health has distracted him from thinking about his future paycheck. 

“Everybody reacts differently when it comes to [contract years], but he's been fine, I think,” Claude Julien said. “He's got a smile on his face every time he comes to the rink. He certainly doesn't look stressed about it. That's probably the best way to look at it. You come in and have some fun and enjoy your time that you're here. More than anything, you'll probably have a pretty good season and everything else will take care of itself. 

“Where you get in trouble is when you dwell and stress yourself out over stuff that you can't control at the time. All it does is add extra pressure on you and certainly doesn't help your game.”

With his focus on the ice, Horton has been able to make a pretty good case for himself. He has four goals through 11 games, but they’ve been big goals. Considering he had three game-winning goals (two in overtime and two in Game 7s) in the Bruins’ 2011 Stanley Cup run, it’s no surprise to see that three of his goals this season have come in the third period of games the Bruins were trailing by two or less goals. Two of those goals were equalizers, while Tuesday’s third-period strike brought the B’s within one with 1:31 to go against the Rangers, paving the way for Brad Marchand to tie it and send the game into overtime. 

With the exception of a rather slugghish showing in the first period of that Rangers game, the power forward has had his legs and has looked every bit like the player that he was prior his first concussion. 

Chiarelli said this week that he especially liked the way Horton started the season and that he’s “happy with where he’s at” since. Most importantly, the general manager has observed no mental effects of the concussions, which can often show up in the form of tepidness as players readjust to taking contact. 

"He's very alert, eager and enthusiastic -- in practice and in games," Chiarelli said. "There's no hesitation. Sometimes when players are recovering from this type of stuff, they slow down a tiny bit, whether it's reflexes or skating. I haven't seen any of that."

Goaltenders aside, there isn’t a person in the league who isn’t happy to see Horton back and contributing for the B’s. There’s still the rest of the season to be played and financial particulars to figure out, but Horton hopes he’ll be able to stay in Boston a lot longer.