Well, for the “you can’t spell defencemen with defence” crowd, this one is for you: according to GSVA,
Charlie McAvoy has been more valuable than Josi this season.
That’s right, 32 fewer points (!) and yet McAvoy still ranks second to only Makar. The reason: that gaudy defensive rating. Part of that is playing with
Patrice Bergeron, the defensive god, but McAvoy adds a lot to that duo. It’s likely no coincidence that the best defensive season of a multiple Selke winner’s career comes now, at age 36, with McAvoy in his prime.
McAvoy has been no slouch on offence on a 61-point pace himself, but it’s the five-on-five numbers, especially defensively that are most eye-popping. In tough minutes the
Bruins earn 62 percent of the expected goals this season with McAvoy on the ice, a mark that ranks second in the league among defenders to a much more sheltered defender. Since 2007-08, only two other defenders have posted an expected goals percentage higher than McAvoy:
Devon Toews in 2020-21 and
Marc-Édouard Vlasic in 2013-14. The only other defencemen above 59 percent are a sheltered
Timothy Liljegren (62.5 percent), McAvoy’s primary partner Matt Grezlcyk (60.5 percent) and the injured
Aaron Ekblad (59 percent). No player allows fewer chances than McAvoy’s 1.76 expected goals against per 60. He also just does
everything well.
