How Much Will The Bruins Pay Charlie McAvoy?

In 2019, Bruins defenseman, Charlie McAvoy signed a three-year bridge deal. What that means is that the Bruins were going to give him a big payday, just later. With next season being the final one on this bridge deal, the time for McAvoy’s payday is almost here. But with the recent signings of his fellow defenseman, how much will McAvoy get?

Boston’s Work Horse

Charlie McAvoy is undoubtedly the hardest working Bruin not named Bergeron or Marchand. His style of play allows him to be effective at all ends of the ice. He is Boston’s shut down d-man, but at the same time he can generate points. Not many teams are lucky enough to have a player like McAvoy.

McAvoy has 100% earned the right to be one of Boston’s highest payed players. Even when Chara was still with the Bruins, McAvoy was the driving force at the blue line. Since 2018-2019, McAvoy has led all Bruins in time on ice. No one else on Boston has played more than McAvoy has.

Other D-Men Get Their Payday

Since NHL free agency began in July of this year, plenty of other young d-men like McAvoy have received some coin. Seth Jones of the Chicago Blackhawks is one such defenseman. Jones inked a contract with Chicago that will see him earn $9.5 million a year for 8 years. Other defenseman such as Colorado’s Cale Makar and Columbus’s Zach Werenski also received similar paydays. McAvoy could easily follow suit.

Typically in sport contract negotiations, players will use others contracts as a basis. Right now it seems as though that the base for a defenseman of McAvoy’s skill is a 6-8 year contract for at least $8-$9 million a year. It could even be argued as well that McAvoy is actually the best of the bunch of defenseman expecting a new contract.

Looking Back At Pastrnak’s Contract

This situation with McAvoy is very similar to the one Pastrnak had a few years ago. In 2017, Pastrnak was negotiating a new contract with the Bruins. At the same time, Leon Draisaitl of the Oilers had signed a six-year contract for $8.5 million a year. Many expected Pastrnak to ask for a similar payday to Draisaitl. However, Pastrnak actually signed a cheaper contract. Pasta’s contract came with a $6.66 million cap-hit for 6 years.

Pastrnak most likely could have asked for his contract to be similar to Draisaitls but opted for the cheaper option. One of the driving forces behind that easily is the team culture in Boston. The Bruins have one of the most tight nit groups in the NHL. Not many players wouldn’t go after the pay of their peers. But because of the mentality of the players in Boston, Pastrnak opted not to do that.

What Will McAvoy’s Contract Look Like?

What most likely will be the same as McAvoy’s peers is the length of his contract. Both the Bruins and McAvoy mutually would want to have a long term contract for someone of his skill. The money will be the variable that is subject to change.

The team culture in Boston may convince McAvoy to go cheaper than his peers. But there is no other player like McAvoy on the Bruins. Even though Pastrnak was a key player at the time of his new contract, he was arguably not as integral as McAvoy is now. The Bruins easily can afford to give McAvoy a big payday like his peers, but they cannot afford to lose McAvoy. No matter what happens, McAvoy will become a lot richer.

Thanks for reading about the Bruins! Contract info provided by spotrac.com and capfriendly.com. You can like The Game Haus on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for more sports and esports articles from great TGH writers like RJ!

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