By: Ryan Bosworth | Follow me on Twitter/X @RyanJBosworth
Charlie McAvoy continues defying the odds that are against him. Last month, I wrote about McAvoy’s ability to excel despite all the adversity he had faced over the last 14 months. As we saw yesterday, McAvoy continues to get his flowers.
It was announced that McAvoy was named a nominee for the Bill Masterton Trophy. The Masterton Trophy is awarded “to the National Hockey League player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey.”
There’s really no player who’s shown that quality more than McAvoy. Separated shoulder, broken jaw, and a whole bunch of missing teeth, yet McAvoy has dominated all areas of the ice. If that’s not perseverance, I’m not sure what is.
On Tuesday night, McAvoy reached another milestone in his career-best season. Previously, his highest-scoring season came in 2021-22. This year, he set a new career-high when he recorded an assist on a Pavel Zacha power play goal against Columbus last week.
Against Carolina, with his assist on Pavel Zacha’s 30th of the season — a new career-high — McAvoy recorded the first 60-point season of his career. 60-points is a number unseen for a Bruin defender since Ray Bourque notched 82 points in the 1995-96 season.
The achievement is even more impressive considering how much McAvoy has endured over the past two seasons. Injury after injury, missing teeth, and stretches of struggling from the Bruins’ roster, McAvoy has impressed on all areas of the ice, both offensively and defensively. Through just 67 games played this season, McAvoy has recorded 11-49-60, and he’s not far off from other career-milestones.
McAvoy’s career-high in goals came in the 2023-24 season, where he scored 12 goals through 74 games played. He’s just one goal away from tying that career high, as he’s scored 11 goals through 67 games this season.
He also registered a career-high in assists this season, passing his previous career-high by three assists, one shy of his first 50-assist season. Right now, he sits with sole-possession of ninth-place in assists, one behind Erik Karlsson for eighth-place, with 50.
Not only is Charlie having a great season offensively, but defensively, he’s been really sound. He’s second among defensemen for takeaways, second among defensemen for shots blocked, and third in plus/minus with +13. While the statsheet may not always represent a strong defensive game from McAvoy, the eye test certainly tells the whole story.
There hasn’t been a Bruins player to win the Masterton Trophy since Phil Kessel won it in 2006-07. In previous years, Joonas Korpisalo (2025), Danton Heinen (2024), Nick Foligno (2023), and Jake DeBrusk (2022) have been nominated.
All-in-all, it’s been a stellar season for McAvoy. With three games remaining in the regular season, it’ll come down to the wire in terms of if he’ll be able to tie or surpass his goal totals, and if he’ll be able to hit the 50-assist plateau ahead of a very likely Bruins playoff-push.
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