Charlie McAvoy big deal? Maybe not so fast…
Joe Haggerty of NBC Sports Boston: A myriad of arguments is used as to why Charlie McAvoy is not near that level of a Zach Werenski. The one clear aspect is health. Second, McAvoy showing flashes is one thing but producing throughout an entire season is different.
The young Bruins defenseman seems to head to a bridge contract of some sort. However, what will that AAV be? A bridge deal could be two years, maybe even three, at around $5-6 million per season. Signing for potential has burned teams in the past. Don Sweeney would be wise to learn that lesson in how he handles Charlie McAvoy.
Into the Philadelphia Flyers offseason…
Dave Isaac of the Courier-Post Online (mailbag): The Philadelphia Flyers searched for defensive leadership this summer and believe they have found it. This quote from Chuck Fletcher is telling:
“You can wish for things and want to win a Stanley Cup right away. There’s a process for everything,” Fletcher said last week. “I don’t think I’ve had to pump the brakes on anything. I just think the expectation is we’ve got to find a way to get better and, as I’ve mentioned a few times, we give up way too many goals to win hockey games. It’s that simple. Until we learn to play the right way and have better details and have better habits — we tweaked the personnel to cut down the goals against — until we do that, we’re not gonna win games. We’re not gonna win consistently and we have no chance. That’s the focus and continuing to draft and develop and continuing to augment the roster with trades or free agency as needed.”
Again, Chuck Fletcher feels like he has a pulse on what he needs. The problem is he is not close in negotiations with Ivan Provorov and that is not good. Travis Konecny is much closer. Also, while some grumbled about the Kevin Hayes signing, if he plays some defense and produces offensively, he exceeds the price paid.
Joel Farabee has a bit more skill than Morgan Frost which is why Farabee cracks the lineup first. Finally, Philadelphia remains a bubble team but an improved bubble team. Goaltending improved and team defense did as well. However, Chuck Fletcher knows the conference as a whole became better.