Lets Have A Sunday; Bruins And Charlie McAvoy Are Closing In On An Extension

The dominos are all starting to fall into place with the current RFA situation the NHL is experiencing. On Friday night we saw Mitch Marner and the Maple Leafs agree to a long term extension, now it’s the Bruins and Charlie McAvoy’s turn. McAvoy and the Bruins are closing in on a 3-year-extension this morning according to Uncle Bob.

I think once Zach Weresnki signed in Columbus, it was inevitable that the B’s and McAvoy would get this deal done soon. Weresnki signed a 3-year, $15m deal earlier this week with the Blue Jackets and basically set the market for defenseman. According to Uncle Bob, McAvoy and his camp were set on a long-term deal but once they saw Werenski’s deal they changed their mind. The Flyers on the other hand kind of threw a wrench into the mix when they signed dman Ivan Provorv to a 6-year, $40.5m extension on Friday.

McAvoy is a HUGE part of what the Bruins are building and one could even argue he is one of their most important pieces. 22-year-old number 1 defensemen don’t grow on trees and I think that is why everyone thought a long-term extension was coming for McAvoy. But the fact the team has to get both him AND defenseman Brandon Carlo signed plays a big part in what McAvoy will be able to sign for.

Everyone has bought into taking less in Boston. It’s just a fact. Bergeron, Marchand and Pastrnak all signed contracts for below market value. Torey Krug is up for a new contract next season and is on the record of saying that he’d take less to stay in Boston. “Taking less only works if everyone takes less” Sidney Crosby told us on Spittin’ Chiclets a few weeks back, and it’s true.

Look at what the Maple Leafs are doing. The second they gave all that money to John Tavares it opened up a huge can of worms for the other guys who needed to get paid. “You paid him X amount, why can’t I make that much.” Now they are going to be in cap hell in a few years when they need to sign some people and have no money because they allocate 50% of the salary cap to four players.

Playing in only 53 games last season due to injury, McAvoy had 28 points (7g, 21a). The number that stands out the most though is his 22minutes+ average TOI. Buddy puts up minutes. Come playoff time it seemed like every time you looked at the TV, McAvoy was out there just snapping it tape to tape. We are talking about a kid who is only 22-years-old too, he hasn’t even touched his prime yet.

Chuckie Bright Lights is a Norris caliber defenseman so if the the Bruins can get this deal done with him missing basically no camp time is a HUGE win for the B’s. Now it’s time to get this deal done.