When Charlie McAvoy returned from offseason shoulder surgery in November, there were understandably questions about how his play would be affected early on.
While McAvoy has acknowledged that it took a while to feel like himself, he is now showing everyone he’s not only healed, but he can contribute better than ever.
McAvoy, who missed the first 13 games of the season, immediately started to make an impact on the scoresheet with a goal in his first game back against Calgary on Nov. 10.
Since then, McAvoy has not only produced consistently, he’s produced at the highest level of his career on a per-game basis.
For the first time in his career he is averaging almost a point per game (0.91 points per game), with his previous best average being 0.72 points per game last season.
Though he had a lot of catching up to do, McAvoy managed to quickly climb the ranks of the Bruins’ assists and points leaders.
Impressively, McAvoy has moved into second place on the Bruins in assists (35), just one shy of team leader David Pastrnak (36). He is fifth on the team in points (39) and leads all Bruins defensemen in both points and assists, despite playing fewer games than the Bruins’ other five regulars on defense.
Currently in his sixth season as a Bruin, McAvoy is on pace to tally 63 points this season, which would surpass his career high of 56 from last season.
McAvoy has also added to the power play. He has mostly slotted in on the Bruins’ top unit since his return and has the third-most power-play points on the team (16), behind Pastrnak (29) and Brad Marchand (23).
McAvoy’s offense is comparable to the top defensemen in the league
To compare McAvoy’s offensive output to other players around the league, you can first look at how he compares to the Bruins’ second-highest point-scoring defenseman: Hampus Lindolm.
Lindholm, who is also having a great season offensively, ranks second among Bruins’ defensemen with 36 points. But that is still three fewer points than McAvoy with 13 more games played on the season.
Comparing McAvoy to the rest of the league, he is sixth among all NHL defensemen in points per 60 minutes played with 2.41. He’s behind only Erik Karlsson, Dougie Hamilton, Josh Morrissey, Rasmus Dahlin and Quinn Hughes in that category.
McAvoy’s offense keeps getting better
Now with 43 games under his belt this season, McAvoy has been able to ramp up the offensive playmaking even more as of late.
McAvoy’s three-assist game against the Senators on Monday was his second game with three or more points in a game this season and brought him to a total of seven points in his last four games.
In that game, McAvoy’s third assist was a pass to Pastrnak from his knees that resulted in a breakaway goal. The pass impressed Bruins coach Jim Montgomery, who said, “I've never seen that special of a play in a situation like that.”
Pastrnak had high praise for both of McAvoy’s assists on his two goals. On the first, McAvoy had faked out an Ottawa defender before passing over to Pastrnak.
“Actually, unbelievable plays on both goals of mine, so great job by Charlie,” Pastrnak said. “He beat three guys with one pass. That’s a superstar play.”
McAvoy may not get as many Norris Trophy votes this season because of the missed games, but he is once again playing at a superstar level.
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