Charlie McAvoy’s career high in scoring is 32 points. He reached it for the first time in 2017-18 and again in 2019-20.
In both seasons, McAvoy did so while deferring to Torey Krug on the power play. In 2017-18, McAvoy, tasked to run the second unit (1:59 PP time per game), scored just seven of his 32 points on the man advantage. Two years later, McAvoy recorded just two man-up points while averaging 1:21 of PP action per appearance.
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All of that is due to change.
Over 11 playoff games in 2020-21, McAvoy’s man advantage ice time exploded to 3:03 per appearance. He earned it. McAvoy scored eight of his 12 playoff points on the power play.
He averaged 14.32 points per 60 minutes of PP time, according to Natural Stat Trick, tops among all defensemen. For context, it was better than Cale Makar (12.4), Victor Hedman (10.19) and even ex-teammate Krug (4.83), all of whom had accumulated more regular-season reps than McAvoy.
In 2018-19, the NHL’s last 82-game season, Krug recorded 30 PP points, third-most among defensemen. If McAvoy can approach such a threshold, his all-situations scoring total could smash his previous 32-point best. Playing an outnumbered game with David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and Nick Foligno can be friendly to a PP quarterback’s production.
“Ideally, we’d like to get him more reps at that,” said coach Bruce Cassidy. “I think it’s good for his mindset too. He wants to be out there with that group. Don’t get me wrong, they all do. But he wants to be considered a guy that should be running it. I respect that. He’ll get every opportunity. He earned it last year.”
In the playoffs, McAvoy ran the power play like he’d been behind its wheel forever. He carried the puck rapidly through center ice and gained clean entries. He walked the blue line gracefully. McAvoy was a threat to shoot from up top, distribute the puck to his skilled forwards and scoot down the right flank to stretch out penalty killers.
McAvoy had a good model to study. For his first three seasons, McAvoy watched Krug wave his power-play baton as well as any defenseman in the league. Last season, desiring as little disruption as possible following Krug’s St. Louis exit, Cassidy installed Matt Grzelcyk, also a left shot, on PP1’s point. Grzelcyk scored seven PP points — a tidy sum, but not enough to move the needle.
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The postseason, meanwhile, proved that McAvoy is a more dynamic and assertive up-top presence. As expected, he enjoyed rocking and rolling with the first-liners.
“I had a lot of fun playing with those guys last year,” said McAvoy. “They’re obviously world-class players. I enjoyed that. So long as I’m back there, I want to be reliable, make the plays I’m supposed to make, give those guys the puck in positions where they can show their skill and make their plays and complement them well. That’s what I’m looking to do and build confidence more and more as we do it. Last year was good. It was easy to play with confidence with them. When they’re moving the puck and having such good chemistry, you just want to be a complement to them. That’s my goal — to be reliable, make the plays I’m supposed to make and the special ones when I can.”
Last season, McAvoy scored 21 even-strength points. It was just one off the pace of Adam Fox, McAvoy’s former youth hockey teammate.
Fox made his Norris Trophy-winning move on the power play, where he scored 23 points to McAvoy’s eight. With more PP time, McAvoy could approach his fellow Long Islander’s standard. He could even surpass Fox in five-on-five scoring.
In his three previous seasons, McAvoy has had to bake conservatism into his even-strength approach. In Years 1 and 2, McAvoy found himself covering at times for Zdeno Chara, whose foot speed had slackened with age. Last season, paired mostly with the slighter Grzelcyk, McAvoy had to execute the muscle work in the danger areas.
This year, newbie Derek Forbort, in all likelihood, will start on McAvoy’s left side. Forbort does not have quick feet. But the 6-foot-4 ex-Jets defender is long, strong and designed for shutdown duty. In that way, Forbort has pitched McAvoy back to the past when Chara was locking down the left side.
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It remains to be seen whether Forbort can defend as stoutly as Chara, who was 40 and 41 years old for most of the two seasons he partnered with McAvoy. You can bet, however, that McAvoy will not have to be as concerned about specific areas as he was with Chara at his side. For example, it was usually up to the quicker McAvoy to be first back on pucks. As a result, he was sometimes limited in supporting the offensive rush.
It may not be so with Forbort. If the 29-year-old can take care of D-zone business, McAvoy may have more of an attacking green light. Not only could this lead to more team offense, it could bump up McAvoy’s five-on-five production.
“With good judgment on my part on when to go and when not to go,” McAvoy said of how he’ll determine when to activate. “Breaking plays up and trying to transition quick, seeing my opportunities to jump up the other side of the ice — when they’re there, I’ll try to take them.”
McAvoy entered the league as a stout 19-year-old fresh out of Boston University. He is leaned out now, harder as a 23-year-old man. He never had issues logging big minutes. But perhaps a sleeker McAvoy can recover even quicker when he retreats to the bench to catch his breath.
“He tested well. But he always has,” Cassidy said. “There’s some guys that are always going to be low body fat no matter what. It’s just their metabolism. Charlie, I don’t think, is ever that guy that will be that’s lower. It’s just the way he’s built.”
All of this signals good things for the Bruins and better things for McAvoy’s wallet. It was the offseason of megabucks for defensemen in McAvoy’s cohort: fellow 1997-born Zach Werenski ($9,583,333 annually), former UMass Amherst stud Cale Makar ($9 million), Miro Heiskanen ($8.45 million). McAvoy will be next, either before or after his current deal expires.
Last time club and player entered negotiations, general manager Don Sweeney held the upper hand. McAvoy, upon expiration of his entry-level contract, was categorized as a 10.2 (c) player, forbidden to sign an offer sheet and ineligible for arbitration.
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This time, agent Michael Curran is in a stronger position of power. McAvoy will be eligible for arbitration and free to sign an offer sheet. If McAvoy waits until after 2021-22, his arbitration argument, provided he approaches his expected offensive threshold, will be airtight. Either way, McAvoy should be looking at an eight-figure annual payday, of which he deserves every cent.
“I’m very happy for them,” McAvoy said of the big-bucks defensemen. “I know quite a few of them. Couldn’t be happier for them. They’re all very well deserved. For me, I’m just excited about this year, excited about the group we have. Being back together and seeing everybody is always awesome. I feel like we’ve had a good few days here to start. Just want keep building on that momentum.”
Notes:
1. The Bruins opened the preseason on Sunday with a 3-2 shootout win over Washington. Jake DeBrusk and Erik Haula, who could play together on the No. 3 line, each scored regulation and shootout goals.
For DeBrusk, early traction could be critical. The left winger is coming off a five-goal season. This is a contract year for the 24-year-old. DeBrusk drove to the net to score in the first period. He fired a wrister past Vitek Vanecek in the shootout.
“It’s important for him,” said Cassidy. “For some guys, it would probably matter a little more. Some guys are fine-tuning their game in different ways. For him, when he produces, he always feels better about himself. He was around the puck. The way he scored going to the net, those are good, positive signs for him.”
2. Jeremy Swayman got the start and played until midway through the second. Swayman stopped 18 of 19 shots, looking big, fast, square and aggressive when necessary.
3. Fabian Lysell, the team’s 2021 first-round pick, did not look out of place. The right winger, skating with Jakub Lauko and Oskar Steen, landed three shots on net in 14:39 of play.
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“He was around the puck,” said Cassidy. “Pulled it to space when he needed to. Attacked the front of the net. Pushed back when he had to. Made a heck of a play on the wall late to get it into the middle for a scoring chance. He did a lot of things well. Attacked. Didn’t look flustered. Strong on his skates. A lot of good things for his first hockey game.”
4. John Moore, in all likelihood, is competing to be the first defenseman into the lineup in case of injury. That is fine by him. Moore underwent major hip surgery in March that ended his season.
“I felt great,” said the smooth-skating 30-year-old, who had two assists. “Coming off a really long rehab, I was so excited to see my name on the board and get the opportunity to play. I love hockey. It’s always in the back of your mind when you go through some of those things that it might never come back. I’m just grateful to be out there and competing.”
(Photo: Mike Stobe / NHLI via Getty Images)
