Charlie McAvoy almost ended up with another Eastern contender

Earlier this week, the Montreal Canadiens hired Billy Ryan to oversee amateur scouting in the United States for the team. Of course now in Montreal, Arpon Basu and Marc Antoine Godin of The Athletic did more digging on Ryan and found out more about his past as the Florida Panthers amateur scout. And it turns out he came close to making an epic move for the Cats back in the day.

According to a report from the Athletic, Ryan did everything he could to get then-Panthers general manager Tom Rowe to use the NHL trade market and draft Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy at the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. While the report does not say if the Bruins and Panthers held any trade talks regarding the 14th overall pick before Draft day in Buffalo, New York. But Ryan, who is a Massachusetts native tried his hardest to get McAvoy:

‘The Florida Panthers owned the 23rd overall pick at the 2016 draft, but they had a scout who wanted his team to do everything possible to get the 14th overall pick. There was a player who was still available and was expected to go around that range. According to a league source, the scout felt it was worth “trading the house” to go get.
That player was Charlie McAvoy. That scout was Billy Ryan.”

The Bruins got it right in the first round that year and went for Charlie McAvoy - but nobody knows if they would have been tempted to make a move with Florida… As for the Panthers, they selected Henrik Borgstrom with the 23rd pick and now plays for the Washington Capitals where he recently signed as a free agent. He played for the Chicago Blackhawks last season. 

That’s all in the past now and thankfully for the Bruins, McAvoy has become the cornerstone of the blue line in Boston. There is a feeling that McAvoy, once he return from injury, could pick up where he left off last season, coming off a career high in goals (10), assists (46) and points with 56. He finished fourth in voting for the 2022 Norris Trophy that was awarded to Colorado Avalanche’s Cale Makar.

The Eastern Conference portrait would be completely different if McAvoy was in Florida! Imagine a Panthers blue line with Aaron Ekblad and McAvoy?