Mailbag: Lack of transparency surrounding Charlie McAvoy and preferred defense pairs without him

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Appreciate the question, Marchy.

I'm just as curious as you and am not exactly sure why everything is still such a mystery.

The incident occurred nearly a full week ago ago and the only information fans and media have received has been Marco Sturm mentioning that Charlie underwent successful facial surgery, he's resting at home and that there is no timeline on his return.

Information only given upon being asked about it days later, was as vague of an answer as one could get and provided minimal new information.

But to be fair to Marco, it's not his job to play the role of public relations.

It's possible - though unlikely - that the Bruins truly don't yet know an estimated timetable for McAvoy's return as it could include follow up consultation(s), second and third opinions, or possibly even further medical attention.

But that's fine.

You know that the Bruins are aware of?

The specific injury or injuries that McAvoy suffered on the play.

So what's so wrong with releasing a statement about simply that?

Even if they don't have an estimated recovery time - just keep fans, media, and any other third parties invested in the health of an individual, and professional athlete in the know.

Perhaps they release more information soon but for now this lack of transparency seems to be dragging on longer than it should be.

Thanks for the question, Jeff.

While we still don't know the specifics of McAvoy's injury, or timeline of his return - it's safe to assume he'll be out for a significant amount of time.

According to ESPN's Emily Kaplan - McAvoy's timeline is dependent on recovery from surgery but that he should be back by the Olympics.

Now being "OK for Olympics" is still extremely vague in terms of returning to the Bruins lineup prior to the Olympics.

The Bruins have 35 games before the Olympic break and we already know that McAvoy did not travel with the team on their current road trip which still has three games remaining.

That means that if McAvoy were to hypothetically return to the lineup the game after American Thanksgiving (which no one is expecting) he could play in as many as 32 games prior to the Olympics.

But on the other hand, if McAvoy doesn't return to Boston's lineup until after the Olympics then he would miss at least the next 35 games.

So basically, based on the little information we currently know - McAvoy could miss anywhere from 3-35 of the Bruins next games.

That's quite the spread.

My gut is that it will be somewhere in the middle and that he'll return sometime in late December, or early January - call it 15-20 games.

But that's a pure guess - truly have no idea because THEY WON'T TELL US ANYTHING!

Anyways back to your question, Jeff.

I need Henri Jokiharju on the 9th floor like a plant needs watering.

So that means that for the rest of Boston's road trip I would try out these parings:

Nikita Zadorov - Michael Callahan (offside)

Hampus Lindholm - Andrew Peeke

Mason Lohrei - Jonathan Aspirot (offside)

However, upon arriving home, the Bruins should call up Frederic Brunet.

In my opinion, if McAvoy is going to be out for a significant amount of time - the Bruins should promote a defensemen that has the highest ceiling possible.

And with all due respect to Callahan, Billy Sweezey, or Victor Soderstrom - Brunet, to me, has a higher two way ceiling.

Brunet, 22, has developed greatly during his time in the AHL had an excellent training camp this past September.

While he was one of Boston's final cuts, he was waivers exempt and was sent back to the minors to play heavy minutes and all situations rather than being an extra defensemen in Boston.

In this situation, my pairs would be:

Nikita Zadorov - Frederic Brunet (offside)

Hampus Lindholm - Andrew Peeke

Mason Lohrei - Jonathan Aspirot (offside)

Worth giving a shot and seeing what happens.

As for the over abundance of left shot defensemen and having multiple guys playing their offside?

Well, that's due to my hypothetical scratching of Jokiharju (sorry, not sorry) and simply because of the Bruins organizational right shot depth being pretty bare (even with McAvoy) let alone without him.

Hey, who's going to tell me that's not how you spell Brunet?

I mean seriously, he's my preferred call up so you'd think I'd at least spell his name correctly - ah, well, it's not like i'm a writer or anything ...

Anyways, I hope the Bruins make this move but i'm not holding my breath.

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Welp, that does it for this week.

Thank you all for reading, and have a happy and safe Thanksgiving!