On Monday, Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy ditched his no-contact jersey and took contact in practice for the first time since suffering a shoulder injury and infection during the 4 Nations Face-Off in mid-February.
McAvoy and Boston interim head coach Joe Sacco both said after practice that there is still no timetable for his return. When McAvoy might get cleared to play is one question. Another is: Should the Bruins play him even when or if he is cleared?
Normally, the answer to that question would be pretty obvious. If McAvoy, the Bruins’ No. 1 defenseman, is cleared to play, then he plays. No questions asked.
But this isn’t a normal situation for the Bruins. While they haven’t officially been eliminated from playoff contention yet, they are eight points out with just eight games remaining. Just as importantly, they are now tied for the fifth-worst record in the league and are mere percentage points away from being fourth-worst.
Landing a top-five pick in June’s draft is very much in play, which could be huge for a center-needy franchise given that four of the top five or six players in this draft are centers – namely, Michael Misa, James Hagens, Anton Frondell and Caleb Desnoyers.
So, the argument for just keeping McAvoy shut down – one passionately made by my Skate Pod co-host Brian DeFelice on Monday (listen above) – would be two-fold: You don’t risk any further injury, and you don’t improve a team that would be better off continuing to lose in order to get a higher draft pick.
The counter-argument – and where I come down on this – is also multi-faceted. One, and most simply, if a hockey player is healthy enough to play hockey, he plays hockey. And two, there are also some potential benefits to McAvoy playing.
McAvoy himself explained one of them after Monday’s practice: He is one of two alternate captains left on this roster along with David Pastrnak, and he needs to be playing to lead the way he wants and expects to lead.
“I think it's hard. I think there's a full picture to that,” McAvoy said. “You're really only getting to do about half of that because you're not playing, you're not in the fight. So, these guys are going through it, and you're on the sidelines for it, which isn't fun. You want to try and lead, but you can't do that, really, in the position that I'm in. But what I'm trying to do, like I said, is just work hard every day and set an example, try and build a rapport with the new guys, and try to just keep a positive mindset here of what's in front of us and trying to finish the year as best we can.”
Sacco pointed to another: Giving McAvoy a chance to find something to feel good about heading into the offseason.
“I think if he's ready and he’s cleared to play, like any player, they want to get back in there,” Sacco said when asked if it was important for McAvoy to play games. “So yeah, I mean, you might feel good about yourself getting a couple games under your belt before the season ends.”
Of course, players and coaches aren’t thinking about draft picks like the front office is. Players and coaches don’t tank. They don’t want to lose every game the rest of the way. They’re trying to play well. They’re trying to win, even if they haven’t done so in eight games now.
So, if McAvoy does get cleared to play, and feels good enough to do so, it would have to be the front office that holds him out – and does so against his wishes. That could create a thorny situation between management and one of the two franchise pillars, especially since that relationship might already need some smoothing over following the trade deadline firesale and with an uncertain future ahead.
Anyways, this debate may all be for naught. McAvoy hasn’t been cleared to play yet. There is still no timetable for his return. He acknowledged Monday that he is still feeling some pain and still needs to build back some strength. He was spotted rubbing his injured shoulder at one point during practice. With just two weeks left in the season, McAvoy might simply run out of time.
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A few other quick-hit Bruins notes…
-- Mark Kastelic did not practice Monday, but did skate on his own before practice as he rehabs an upper-body injury. Sacco said there is no timeline for his return yet.
-- Patrick Brown and Vinni Lettieri both cleared waivers Monday afternoon, but neither was immediately assigned to AHL Providence. Both practiced in regular lineup spots Monday, so it’s possible the Bruins plan to keep them around for the time being despite putting them on waivers Sunday. Boston could now send them down at a later date for the AHL playoffs without needing to put them on waivers again.
-- Fabian Lysell and Mike Callahan were also still with the team Monday. Both had popped up on the AHL transaction wire Sunday, but those were just paper moves. The Bruins also recalled Jeffrey Viel on an emergency basis Monday.
-- The “Gr8 Chase” rolls into town Tuesday night, as the Bruins host the Washington Capitals and Alex Ovechkin, who is now just five goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goals record of 894. For a while, Ovechkin was on pace to tie or break the record right around tonight. Barring something crazy, that won’t happen now. Nonetheless, the chase is at the point where every goal is getting the cut-in, push alert, breaking news treatment.
-- Amherst native and Boston College star Ryan Leonard is expected to make his NHL debut for Washington Tuesday night, which is certainly convenient for him and his family. Leonard’s college season ended with BC’s loss to Denver Sunday night in the second round of the NCAA tournament, and he signed with the Capitals on Monday. Picked eighth overall by Washington in 2023, Leonard led the nation in goals this season with 30 in 37 games, and could still win the Hobey Baker Award as the top player in the country. A physical, confrontational right wing who plays an NHL-ready game, Leonard could be a really nice late-season add for a team that already has the best record in the Eastern Conference.
-- Speaking of prospects, if Google’s translation from Latvian is accurate, Latvia’s national team coach, Harijs Vitoliņs, expects Bruins prospect Dans Locmelis to turn pro and spend the rest of the season with AHL Providence. Locmelis, a 21-year-old center who was originally a fourth-round pick in 2022, just wrapped up his sophomore season at UMass. He finished with 33 points (8 goals, 25 assists) in 40 games, more than doubling his production from last year, and scored the Minutemen’s lone goal in their season-ending 2-1 loss to Western Michigan on Saturday. Locmelis has played for Latvia in the World Championships each of the last two years, which was the pretext of Vitolins’ comments on the situation.