Even with ‘changing’ RFA market, Bruins players hopeful that Charlie McAvoy, Brandon Carlo are back in the fold soon

The Bruins still have a little less than a week until training camp opens on Thursday, September 12. 

As such, the club — unlike many fans, media, etc. — hasn’t hit the panic button quite yet when it comes to finding the common ground needed to bring restricted free agents Charlie McAvoy and Brandon Carlo back into the fold before the regular season gets underway on October 3. 

“I’d love to see them out there,” Sean Kuraly said of the pair of promising B’s blueliners. “They’re great teammates, great players. Great friends. I hope it’s done as soon as both sides get an agreement. That’s really all I have to say about that. I hope they get back ASAP, because they’re great players and I love having them back there.”

Boston has been down this road before when it comes to RFAs and the game of chicken that manifests year after year between an organization and players/agents. 



Before signing a six-year, $40-million contract extension with Boston, David Pastrnak was the latest skater to give B’s fans cold sweats in the summer when it came to a potential holdout or *gasp* a season spent overseas. But all that RFA drama dissipated in short order, as the winger ultimately signed off on a team-friendly deal on the day that camp opened on September 14, 2017. 

Torey Krug played a bit more hardball with Boston after his three-year, entry-level contract expired with the club. By the time the defensemen finally agreed to a one-year, $1.4-million extension, the Bruins were just three days away from the start of the 2014-15 regular season. 

So the ongoing discussions between McAvoy/Carlo and the Bruins aren't setting the stage for some cataclysmic showdown or prolonged holdout, at least not yet. 

But for a veteran that’s become used to the changing dynamics within the game of hockey — both on the ice and in the business side of things — David Krejci was quick to note that the current state of the RFA market is drastically different from the waters he navigated in the early portion of his career. 

“It’s different from when I was in that position,” Krejci said of the lack of movement league-wide on the RFA market. “For me, I’m like, I don’t know. Why change anything? But at the same time, the game is changing. Everything around the game is changing too. I don’t really have an opinion on it, I just know that it was different back in the day. I just know Don (Sweeney) doing what’s best for the team, and I know Chuck wants to be here, Brandon wants to be here too. I’m sure they’ll work something out.”

One has to think that something’s gotta give when it comes to the large swath of RFAs that have yet to re-up with their current clubs. 

Along with McAvoy and Carlo, Mitch Marner, Mikko Rantanen, Brayden Point, Patrik Laine, Matthew Tkachuk, Zach Werenski, Ivan Provorov, Brock Boeser and Kyle Connor have all yet to rejoin their teams with training camp right around the corner. 

As of right now, the waiting game between these players and teams would seem to benefit the players, especially with other organizations continuing to set the market higher and higher with their own deals. 

Take for example Arizona forward Clayton Keller, who, despite regressing to just 14 goals and 47 points last season, just inked an eight-year extension that will pay him an average of $7.15 million a year. Yikes. 

That’s bad news for teams trying to sign forwards like Boeser, Tkachuk and Connor — and great news for the players, who might be more willing to hold out for an even greater payday now. 

Of course, the longer all parties wait it out, the fewer winners there are when it comes to the RFA situation, as seen last year when the Maple Leafs could have used William Nylander’s contributions for the first two months of the season. And while he eventually returned in December, it was evident that the forward was not fully ready after not participating in training camp and building chemistry with his teammates. 

Such a doomsday scenario isn’t on the horizon quite yet for the Bruins, but the longer McAvoy and Carlo remain away from the club, the more it puts Boston behind the eight ball. 

“It would be nice to have them at the start of training camp, I know they still have a little over a week to get something done,” Krejci said. “Lots of players go through that. With me, when I was in that position, it was a little bit different, but I understand the game is changing. Their agents are doing what they think is best for their players. Don is trying to do what’s best for the team, they’re trying to find some common ground there. I’m hopeful that they’ll get something done.”