BOSTON — Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy has big plans for his newfound money after signing an eight-year, $76 million contract extension.
“I might go get my dog a handful of bones,” he said Friday after agreeing to the deal that could keep him in Boston through 2030.
“It’s such a whirlwind,” he said. “Now I just get to do what I love, which is play hockey, and there’s no stress around that. Just getting to come to work every day and do what I love.”
A first-round draft pick in 2016, McAvoy made his Bruins debut as a 19-year-old in the 2017 playoffs and was tutored early on by Zdeno Chara. Still just 23, McAvoy has now replaced the 2009 Norris Trophy winner and seven-time All-Star as the team’s top defenseman.
The Bruins also hope he will grow as a leader as other mainstays of the lineup such as captain Patrice Bergeron, who is in the last year of his contract, move on.
“It’s just a great story for us as an organization,” Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said, adding that general manager Don Sweeney “identified a key part of this team, you want to lock up long-term.”
“He’s part of the core now, and going forward,” Cassidy said. “For a coach, it’s great. He works hard, trying to get better. He’s growing into a leader, I think this helps him in that department.”
McAvoy had five goals and 25 assists in 51 games last season and led all Bruins defensemen with a plus-22 rating. In the playoffs, he had 12 points in 11 games, and he was fifth in voting for the league’s top defenseman, a year after he was 10th.
McAvoy has 24 goals and 98 assists in 235 regular-season games, to go along with another 32 points in 65 playoff appearances. He is plus-80 for his career — second among all NHL defenseman since he entered the league in 2017.
A Long Island native who went to Boston University, McAvoy is due to earn $7.3 million this year before the extension will pay him an average of $9.5 million per year.
“There’s no place I’d rather be,” he said. “I’ve wanted to be in Boston since the moment I’ve been here. It’s been a dream to come to BU and be able to stay here. It’s just been such a dream to get to this point. I can’t be happier than I am right now.”
