During this offseason, a general manager might approach Don Sweeney with interest in Matt Grzelcyk Where Mike Reilly. The Bruins GM would be foolish to reject either scenario simply because of Charlie McAvoyis six months postoperative unavailability.
David Pastrnak looked.
No one replaces McAvoy. He is one of NHLare the best all-around defenders, even though Norris Trophy consideration is not in his future. McAvoy executes all of his actions – coverage in front of the net, defensive zone outings, supporting offensive rushes, slams on open ice – at a high and reliable pace.
So while it’s all well and good to take a defender-by-committee approach to picking up the pieces McAvoy leaves behind until December, it would be an unsatisfying exercise. McAvoy will be absent. The Bruins will be worse for that. It would be the same for each team that loses its second most important player. It just so happens that the Bruins will have already lost their most critical contributor, with Brad Merchant probably unavailable until late November or early December.
As painful as it is to continue without McAvoy, the long-term benefit of swap Grzelcyk or Reilly worth it in the short term. If Sweeney strikes a deal for the futures, the GM would receive two much-needed resources in return: cap relief and draft picks.
For now, trading Grzelcyk ($3,687,500 annual average) or Reilly ($3 million) would give the Bruins some breathing room to strengthen the central position. It is their greatest need. This might involve convincing Patrice Bergeron or David Krejci to come back. Maybe both.
Or maybe cap relief would allow the Bruins to explore a trade. It can be beneficial for Marc Scheifele and the Jets, for example, to arrive at a mutual separation. By trading one of their five left-handed defenders, it could give Sweeney an opening to raise his hand for Scheifele in a separate deal, even if more dough has to go the other way to accommodate the $6,125 AAV of the 29-year-old center.
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If Grzelcyk or Reilly comes out, the Bruins have alternatives on the blue line to limp on until McAvoy is ready to go. Brandon Carlo and Connor Clifton can take more consistent shifts. Hampus Lindholm can work the point on the No. 1 power play unit. A four-man cohort of Lindholm, Carlo, Clifton and Derek Forbort may share penalty elimination shifts. Jakub Zboril and Jack Ahcan are available as in-depth help.
The Bruins, in other words, have options on defense even in the worst-case scenario of McAvoy and Grzelcyk being in the press box for the season opener. They can’t say the same about the center. Functioning Erik Haula and Charlie Coyle because their two best pivots would be playing with fire. The Bruins need a bridge to get them to the next generation – which belongs to Pastrnak.
The right wing loves Boston. He enjoys the company of his teammates. He never said anything bad about the organization.
But Pastrnak is entering the last season of his contract. Even though the Bruins are willing to offer him a maximum extension of eight years, Pastrnak needs to see signals of continued competitiveness to commit to a deal. There’s no point in being rich if you show up to work every day with little chance of winning.
The latter is where the Bruins could be if they don’t correct their shortcomings at center and in the prospects. They need picks, those who could become playmates for Pastrnak (26) and McAvoy (24) as the two organizational stalwarts mature into older statesmen. So far, it looks like Fabian Lysell (first round, 2021) and Mason Lohrei (second round, 2020) could become such players.
The Bruins need more. Otherwise, without proof of possible future success, Pastrnak might refuse to put pen to paper. That would force the Bruins to trade their franchise winger instead of letting him walk for nothing. They don’t want either scenario to happen.
The option to hide McAvoy and Marchand, for starters, on a long-term injured reserve would allow the Bruins to exceed the cap on some or all of their combined AAV of $15.625 million. It would be a temporary solution. The Bruins should clear some space before activating their two superstars. By then, rival teams would be shorter in terms of cap space and assets than they are this summer.
It may seem counter-intuitive to weaken a position via a trade already compromised following the McAvoy procedure. But the Bruins don’t have many other choices.
(Photo by Charlie McAvoy: Steve Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images)