The Boston Bruins made one interesting addition this summer. The club added defenseman Will Borgen in what seemed like a relatively under-the-radar move.
But when looking at the grander scheme of things, the move could mean one thing: Making life easier on Charlie McAvoy.
The Bruins’ top defenseman averaged around 2:40 of ice time on the penalty kill last season. That goes with the territory when you’re a top-pairing blueliner in the NHL.
When it comes to Charlie McAvoy, the Bruins would do well to limit his ice time on the PK and give him much more 5-on-5 and power play time.
The rationale behind this statement is simple. The Bruins will need as much offense as they can get this upcoming season. Yes, there are offensively gifted pieces like JJ Peterka and David Pastrnak.
That’s why having McAvoy focus much more of his ice time on moving the puck and creating offense would help the team in the long run. Sure, it would put much more pressure on Borgen. But that’s what he signed up for. And if Borgen can play up to his usual level, the Bruins should have no trouble killing off penalties this season.
Bruins need to focus on load management for McAvoy
Savvy teams understand the value of load management. Carefully monitoring stars’ ice time is crucial to ensuring they’re at the top of their game.
Naturally, top guys want to be on the ice all the time. They want to play as much as they can in order to influence the game.
But there comes a point where coaches need to be realistic about the situation. Teams with playoff aspirations, like the Bruins, can’t roll out their top players 30 minutes a night. While such a thing happened in the past, the game has evolved since the Wild West days of the 80s and early 90s.
As such, focusing McAvoy’s ice time when it really matters could be the best thing the Bruins could do this season. By asking their top defenseman to do less, the Bruins could get much more.
That is at the heart of this discussion. That is not to say that Borgen would have an inferior role. It’s to say that placing players where they’ll be most effective is the smartest thing to do.
And the most intelligent thing the Bruins can do at this point is take as much as they can off Charlie McAvoy’s plate.
It may seem like a simple move, but it’s one that could pay off in droves this season.
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