Boston Bruins: Does Mitch Marner’s Europe threat mean anything for us?

As summer wears on, restricted free agents around the league still haven’t inked new deals; the Boston Bruins’ Brandon Carlo and Charlie McAvoy included.

Now with reports that the Toronto Maple Leafs’ only remaining restricted free agent, Mitch Marner has held at least initial talks with the Zurich Lions of the Swiss League, should the Boston Bruins fear similar actions being taken by their players pending new contracts?

Straight up, you have to imagine that this decision-making process for Mitch Marner is in part being heavily influenced by his agent Darren Ferris, who has made similar threats on behalf of his clients in the past.

If you recall, that very same agent went down this path with the Detroit Red Wings forward, Andreas Athanasiou, threatening that his client would head off to play the year out in the KHL.

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Thankfully, per Puckapedia, Ferris isn’t representing either Charlie McAvoy nor Brandon Carlo, though it could be interesting when Jack Studnicka is seeking to sign new terms with the Boston Bruins, as he is the sole Bruin represented by said agent – perhaps to the team’s advantage is the fact that Studnicka hasn’t yet broken through or indeed broke-out in the same fashion as Marner.

The Boston Bruins have to be seen to be in a considerably better spot than Toronto, especially with the knowledge that Charlie McAvoy’s agent, Michael Curran of the Wasserman/Orr Hockey Group negotiated the amazingly team-friendly deal that Kevin Labanc signed with the San Jose Sharks this summer.

If he can pull off that level of magic when it comes to the McAvoy negotiations, the Boston Bruins would be laughing all the way to the bank!

Brandon Carlo, by contrast is on the books of Craig Oster of the Newport Sports Management Inc. and may not even be his agent’s top restricted free agency priority, given he also represents the Calgary Flames’ Matthew Tkachuk.

The firmest conclusion we can draw is that they shouldn’t likely be any threats forthcoming from either defenseman’s agent to pack their bags and take their talents overseas. However, erring on the side of caution, there still isn’t a deal in place for either player so we mustn’t rule it out as a possibility.

You’d have to assume that the Boston Bruins aren’t facing up to ludicrous salary demands such as the reports that you see out of Toronto, especially given the team’s cap structuring over the years can be used to their advantage in arguing down both Carlo and McAvoy’s respective prices.

Should we be fearful of an overseas venture for either guy?

Maybe.

Should we fear it in the same way that Toronto Maple Leafs fans likely are with the most recent Mitch Marner news?

Probably not.

I still have faith that both men will sign and be at training camp. Boston Bruins management thinks there may still being contractual terms to iron out it’d seem, with the signing of Alex Petrovic to a professional try-out.

It’s changing times in this league though and for the first time, we’re seeing multiple restricted free agents all using every possible method to negotiate for the highest possible price. Only time will tell how it all will pan out.