Charlie McAvoy’s case for Norris Trophy attention starts with the same question every year: can he actually stay on the ice?
Over the past two seasons, McAvoy has played in just 119 NHL games for the Boston Bruins, with a shoulder injury during the 4 Nations Face-Off and then a puck to the face against the Montreal Canadiens last season interrupting his run. Boston needs him available. When he’s out, the Bruins’ blue line loses a presence it clearly misses.
There’s also the way McAvoy is asked to play. He has drawn criticism before for trying to do too much, and that can get him in trouble.
This season, though, the setup may be cleaner. A better pairing could let him breathe a little instead of having to drag Jonathan Aspirot along every night.
At his best, McAvoy keeps things simple and does them well.
That’s what makes the Norris conversation tricky. He’s widely viewed as one of the league’s marquee defensemen, but his award track record has never quite matched that reputation.
From 2019 to 2022, he was a regular in Norris Trophy voting, finishing 10th, then 5th, then 4th for his best result. Since then, his high-water mark has been 13th, which he reached last season after the injury-plagued year.
A healthier season should help McAvoy climb above that 13th-place finish. Getting all the way into the finalist group feels like a taller order. Cale Makar, Quinn Hughes, and Zach Werenski don’t look ready to give up their spots in the voting, and rising names like Rasmus Dahlin and Matthew Schaefer also tend to draw more attention than McAvoy.
The biggest obstacle is the award itself. McAvoy can do plenty for Boston and serve as an acceptable quarterback on the first power play, but he doesn’t bring the kind of explosive offensive gear that usually drives Norris votes. For better or worse, the trophy has turned into an offensive defenseman award, and that’s not really McAvoy’s lane.
Still, there’s a path for a big year. The addition of JJ Peterka could give the power play a boost, and McAvoy’s 61 points in 69 games pace from last season shows what’s possible.
But that may not be the standard moving forward. His career-best season before that was 56 points in 78 games, which may be a more realistic range for his offense.
So yes, if McAvoy stays healthy and somehow gets to 75 points in a full 82-game season while the Bruins’ defense takes a real step forward, there’s nothing stopping him from finishing in the top five of Norris voting. It just doesn’t feel like the most likely outcome.
In Other News...
David Pastrnak May Finally Get The Bruins Setup He Needs
David Pastrnak spent last season doing a little more of everything for the Bruins, and not always in the spot that best matched his greatest strength. With the roster changed around him and Brad Marchand gone, Boston leaned on Pastrnak in a more distributor-minded role on the power play, asking one of the leagues most dangerous finishers to help make the whole thing go. It was a necessary adjustment, but it also changed the look and feel of the top unit in a way that had an obvious ripple effect on his scoring chances.
The addition of JJ Peterka gives Boston a fresh way to arrange the pieces, and that is where the intrigue starts for Pastrnak. The Bruins now have a path to build a setup that better suits his natural scoring instincts, with a cleaner chance to get him into the kind of position where he can attack instead of create. For a player whose value is tied so closely to his shot, even a small shift in the power-play design could matter quite a bit once the games start counting. [Read more 🡒]
Bruins Suddenly Have A Veteran Scoring Option Worth Watching
A veteran scoring name suddenly entered the conversation for clubs looking to add some offensive punch, with Chris Kreider landing on waivers after the Anaheim Ducks moved to terminate his contract. If he clears, he would be free to choose his next stop, and that alone makes him a player worth monitoring for teams that could use a proven goal-scorer without waiting for a bigger market to sort itself out.
For Boston, the appeal is obvious: a seasoned winger with a track record that could fit a contender looking for help now, not later. There is already some reporting that Kreider may want to return to the East Coast, but no destination has been confirmed, which leaves the Bruins among the clubs watching this one closely as the next step develops. [Read more 🡒]
Bruins Are Suddenly Tied To A Veteran Scorer With Camp Looming
With camp looming and the roster picture still taking shape, the Bruins have suddenly found themselves connected to a familiar scoring name. Boston is expected to have its lineup mostly settled ahead of the 2026-27 NHL season, but the veteran forward chatter has added a late wrinkle, especially with Elliotte Friedman noting interest in a possible return to the Bruins.
The fit would have ripple effects through the forward group, because adding an established scorer changes both the rotation and the math on the final roster. No signing has been confirmed, but the conversation alone has put more attention on how Boston might manage its depth if the move comes together. [Read more 🡒]