'We're a playoff team everyday of the week in my mind': Charlie McAvoy voices confidence contrary to external skepticism of the Bruins

(Photo Credit: TD Garden, Charlie McAvoy via Instagram)

Boston Bruins top defenseman, Charlie McAvoy, recently sat down for an interview with Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, and Kyle Bukauskas for the 32 Thoughts Podcast.

Among topics discussed with McAvoy were the joys of becoming a father, the details, and perils of a season ending injury, the difficulty of having to watch his teammates struggle from the metaphorical sideline, the current state of the Bruins as they embark on a new era, and of course, his expectations for Boston heading into next season.

Below, hear McAvoy discuss leading a new generation of Bruins:

Now as for McAvoy's expectations for Boston this upcoming campaign...

Since finishing with the 5th worst record in the NHL last year, fans and media (both local and national levels) have been rather pessimistic regarding the immediate future of the Boston Bruins.

At surface level, the pessimism is warranted.

The Bruins were not a good hockey team last season, whatsoever.

Let's get that straight.

The eye ball test along with every analytical category - advanced, or basic - would support that.

However ...

They did have more talent on paper entering the year than the on-ice product would have indicated - and if you peel back the curtain a little more, you'll notice that everything that could have gone wrong for the Bruins, well, went wrong.

Jeremy Swayman's contract negotiations playing out publicly became an ugly distraction throughout much of the offseason and training camp.

Jim Montgomery was coaching under lame duck status, and was behind the bench in St. Louis by Thanksgiving.

Brad Marchand was coming off of multiple offseason surgeries.

Elias Lindholm suffered an injury during the first day of training camp that ailed him all season.

Hampus Lindholm's season ended after playing just 17 games.

Charlie McAvoy suffered a season ending injury during the Four Nations Face-Off in February.

Large underperformances from Jeremy Swayman, Charlie Coyle, Pavel Zacha, Brandon Carlo, and others.

It all contributed to the Bruins having a far worse season than even their toughest critics would have anticipated, and ended up in a trade deadline sell job that, quite frankly, had been destined since the retirements of Patrice Bergeron, and David Krejci.

It was time to rip off the bandaids from a wound that needed surgery.

And that's what last year ultimately was.

So when the Bruins made the decision to sell, in conjunction with H. Lindholm, and McAvoy being out for the season - of course the result was going to be a designed tank (by management, not players and coaches) from March 7th onward.

As a result, they recouped much needed draft capital, prospects, and secured better draft positioning - but in doing so, they were left with a roster that was worse than the one they started with - which is ultimately why fans in New England, and around the league don't think too highly of the Bruins and their playoff chances at the moment.

Enter McAvoy's comments on his expectations for the Bruins this upcoming season - you know, the reason you all clicked on this article ....

Below is an exchange between Friedman, and McAvoy via the 32 Thoughts Podcast:

Friedman: " ... from talking to Hampus (Lindholm), it's pretty obvious you guys feel like you have a lot to prove this year - that this is a motivated, annoyed group ... "

McAvoy: " ... this is the first time in my career that we're going into this year probably not being a playoff team by a lot of people's metrics ... we're a playoff team everyday of the week in my mind."

McAvoy continued: "... we got everything we need on this roster to be that ... so that's the goal, and that's the objective and our standards don't deviate regardless of what people think we may or may not be ... "

McAvoy continued on about some of the additions that the Bruins brought in over the offseason, and how he believes they will help make Boston harder to play against.

There are a number of things that are clear hearing this interview even if some of it is reading between the lines.

First, is that McAvoy (and presumably his teammates) aren't oblivious to some negative narratives surrounding the Bruins this offseason and that they are going to be motivated to prove doubters wrong despite having their own internal, unwavering expectations.

Second (and this is more reading between the lines) is that McAvoy probably feels like a lot of the things that went wrong for the Bruins last year (many of which are mentioned above) are much to blame for last season's struggles and that if they can stay healthy and prove that certain underperformances were an anomaly - that they are a team that is playoff caliber.

Third, is that McAvoy probably feels like Boston's overall group is better than many spectators give it credit for and that there's more intangibles to a winning roster on paper than meets the eye - being hard to play against and ready to go from the jump, and most nights for that matter is clearly something the Bruins will be leaning into from an identity perspective.

It certainly feels like the Bruins are crafting an us against the world, underdog phycology.

So, what do you all think?

Do you agree with McAvoy that the Bruins are a playoff team?

Do you agree with critics who think Boston is destined to miss the playoffs, and perhaps even finish among the bottom ten teams in the league again?

OR

Are you cautiously optimistic?

Welp, the beauty about sports is that we'll always get our answers as the games play out.

Here's the full question and answer via the 32 Thoughts Podcast: