The Boston Bruins have survived several key retirements and departures over the years, but defenseman Charlie McAvoy's constant presence has allowed the team to remain dominant.
When longtime Bruins legend and captain Patrice Bergeron officially retired from the game after last season, many thought that the long-awaited stepback for the Bruins was finally around the corner.
That has been the belief in hockey circles to some degree for the past eight years or so.
Marchand, Bergeron, Chara and Krejci are finally starting to age. Now the Bruins will regress.
They've lost Lucic, Rask, Chara, and Krejci. Now the Bruins will regress.
Bergeron is gone. Krejci is gone (again). Marchand is 35. The Bruins couldn't possibly--
And yet here we sit. It's 2024, and the Bruins are first in the Atlantic at 31-9-9. They're in a tie for their second straight Presidents' Trophy, and they're coasting toward their eighth straight playoff season.
Head coach Jim Montgomery has an obscene 96-21-14 record in his two seasons behind Boston's bench, and he deserves much of the credit for Boston's now prolonged ability to win year in and year out.
But for a team with a lack of center depth and only three wingers producing at a notable level, two players stand out as the reason this team holds its position atop the league.
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Charlie McAvoy is a Top 5 Defenseman
McAvoy was straight up born to be a Bruin. Specifically, he was born to be a Bruin at this exact point in time. There's no player in the league who better blends a skill set meant to excel now with the rough-and-tumble edge to his game that has come to define this franchise.
The Boston University Terrier and Long Beach, New York native may lack the total high-end offensive explosiveness to be the best defenseman in the league, but he has literally everything else.
Without Bergeron, the Bruins are no longer the totally dominant possession force that they once were, but McAvoy's time on the ice is still a huge positive for the Bruins.
His on-ice 53.01% expected goals share at even strength is by far the best among the team's defensemen, and those minutes have been huge as four of the team's eight regularly-used defenders are below 50%.
Just two seasons ago, McAvoy was well over a truly absurd 60% while all six of the team's regulars were above 50%. If not for McAvoy's continued dominance, Boston's decreased quality in its forward ranks would be much more apparent.
While most offensive defensemen make a killing on the power play, McAvoy's production is more skewed to even strength relative to his peers.
Among heavily-used defensemen in the NHL this season, McAvoy ranks fifth in 5-on-5 points per 60 minutes. If you include all situations, he falls down to 13th.
The Bruins do have a strong power play, but McAvoy's production is not reliant upon that aspect of his game. That he's more productive at even strength only serves to make him all the more valuable to his team.
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