Sweeney Talks McAvoy And Carlo Negotiations: ‘Not As Fast As Everybody Would Like

A day after Charlie McAvoy’s agent Brian Curran expressed optimism and harmony, Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney did the same about talks with McAvoy’s camp and that of Brandon Carlo during the team’s traveling FanFest tour stop in Leominster, MA.

“Not as fast as everybody would like, but that’s just the nature of the business and every negotiation has its own timeline,” Sweeney told the team website. “We’ll find a finish line at some point and time, Brandon and Charlie will be a part of our organization for a long time. We think really highly of them as players on and off the ice, we just have to find common ground and we’re working to get there.”

On Wednesday, McAvoy agent Michael Curran confirmed to the Athletic what sources have been telling BHN.

“The conversations have been going fine and they’re still continuing,” Curran said “Time will come where we find a meeting place. I just don’t know when it’s going to be. Charlie wants to be a Bruin.”

However, Curran very much hinted at what he envisions McAvoy’s second contract will look like based on similar contracts which have been signed in recent years and with the high-end skilled defensemen, such as Columbus Blue Jackets rearguard Zach Werenski and Philadelphia Flyers blueliner Ivan Provorov who are both on the RFA market right now.

“This time now, it does seem there’s a lot more kids eligible to receive those big contracts by virtue of how good they are,” Curran said of the breadth and depth of stars leaving entry-level. “If I’m a team with a stud forward or D-man and I can lock him up for six, seven, eight years, and you have a cap that’s going to increase — well, you hope — I’d be doing the same thing and locking him in.”

As pointed out here yesterday, it will be interesting to see how long the harmony lasts should McAvoy and/or Carlo not be signed by training camp which begins on September 13.

McAvoy, the 14th overall pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft and former Boston University star has 46 assists 60 points in 117 regular-season games. After scoring twice and notching six assists in 23 playoff games this past spring, he has three goals and 13 assists in 41 playoff games. McAvoy has missed 47 regular-season games with injuries, two of which were a concussion and an irregular heartbeat.

Carlo had a tremendous third season in the NHL, becoming one of the better young shutdown defensemen in the NHL in 2019-20. He was also finally able to play in the playoffs after being injured the previous two seasons. After notching 8 assists and ten points in 72 regular-season games, Carlo had two goals and two assists in 24 playoff games. Carlo has amassed eight goals and 24 assists in 230 regular-season games.