Charlie McAvoy will be sticking around in Boston for a while after signing a three-year deal with the Bruins on Sunday morning.
The defenseman was a restricted free agent and rumors were swirling over the last few days about a potential deal, and pen was put to paper as McAvoy inked his new contract with an average-annual value of $4.9 million. The price tag certainly is great for the B’s, who have just over $3 million in cap space remaining.
Fellow restricted free-agent defenseman Brandon Carlo remains unsigned, while Torey Krug admitted to wanting clarity on his future in Black and Gold. Krug also said he’s thought about taking less money to remain in Boston. So did the defenseman’s comments play any role in getting McAvoy to sign the deal he did?
“I didn’t actually see that, but I know that that’s something that resonates with a lot of guys,” McAvoy said during his press conference, via a team-provided transcript. “I don’t think by any means it’s not something that everyone can be happy with, I think that’s where you find the common ground. But that being said, I think what we have here is special, there’s no doubt about it. There’s no place I’d rather be. To be a part of such an unbelievable group of men, from staff to everybody involved, it’s just a blast to come to the rink every day.
“It truly is something special, I feel fortunate and blessed to be a part of it. I think that it’s something where we all want to be competitive and we all want to win, and how we were really close to getting that done last year. We all have the same goal this year, and I think that making sure we’re competitive, I think that takes precedent and doing what you need to do to be a competitive team. I think that’s most important to everybody.”
Well, even if McAvoy didn’t know of Krug’s comments, it certainly seems he, as well as his teammates, enjoy being in Boston.
The Bruins open their season on the road against the Dallas Stars on Oct. 3.
