Boston Bruins: Will Charlie McAvoy get any offer-sheet interest?

The Boston Bruins have contracts to renew this summer, led by their future franchise defenseman, Charlie McAvoy. Is there any risk that another team may decide to offer-sheet him?

There’s been plenty of talk about offer-sheets, with every restricted free agent under the sun linked with the notion that agents will push for them to occur. Whilst the noise surrounding Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy hasn’t quite been as loud as say the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Mitch Marner or Tampa Bay Lightning’s Brayden Point, you’d have to imagine there’s still a degree of risk.

It was reported back in February by The Athletic (subscription required) that Charlie McAvoy had reportedly turned down a long-term extension offer put on the table by the Boston Bruins. Apparently, his team are citing the Florida Panthers’ Aaron Ekblad as a suitable comparison. Ekblad signed an eight-year deal in 2016 worth $7.5 million a season.

Now, every media snippet you see and hear from Charlie McAvoy suggests that he wants to remain long-term with the Boston Bruins, but obviously we’re also talking about money here and that can skew anyone’s judgement. His team, rightfully, can show a degree of concern due to his health problems in the past and can point to a very well-managed salary structure right now and tell him he needs to fit in.

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However, this is where he and his team have a little bit of power. One team that could certainly leverage a favourable salary cap position and put emotion into the mix is Charlie McAvoy’s childhood favourites, the New York Rangers.

If Charlie McAvoy chooses to go out and test the market for offer-sheet deals, you’d have to imagine that the New York Rangers would be at the front of the queue. Not only the fact Charlie grew up supporting the team, but also that David Quinn, his former head coach at Boston University now heads up their team. McAvoy has stated in the past how much time he has for Quinn.

Realistically, it’ll take an offer of $8 million or more to be on the table before the Boston Bruins are in a position where matching is no certainty. The cost of a first, second and third if not two firsts, a second and a third is certainly steep but us Boston Bruins fans know just how much value McAvoy can bring.

Perhaps his agent is pushing him to pursue this avenue; it certainly would put the Boston Bruins in a really tough spot. That sort of offer would be one that the team would struggle to match all the time there’s money tied up in bit-part guys like John Moore, Kevan Miller and David Backes.

Best case scenario; Charlie McAvoy falls into line, ends up signing a four-year deal at Aaron Ekblad’s price and then we can move this conversation a few years down the track, when hopefully the salary cap has seen a significant increase.

Are offer-sheets a risk this summer? Maybe. Will we see one? Right now, it seems likely. Will one actually end up happening? That is where the real question is. Only time will tell.