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Charlie McAvoy may have finally entered the elite fantasy-hockey-defenseman conversation, and I don’t think his career-high 61-point season was a fluke.
My Charlie McAvoy fantasy hockey projection for 2026-27 is 12 goals, 53 assists and 65 points for the Boston Bruins.
There is one immediate complication: McAvoy is set to miss Boston’s first six regular-season games because of a suspension. That puts a natural cap on his games played and is one reason I’m not pushing the projection into the 70-point range. But once he returns, the ingredients for another huge offensive season remain in place. Boston is going to lean heavily on McAvoy at even strength, and his fantasy ceiling becomes especially intriguing if he continues quarterbacking a power-play group featuring David Pastrnak, Morgan Geekie, Pavel Zacha and Elias Lindholm.
After what McAvoy accomplished last season, fantasy managers shouldn’t be drafting him based on his old 40-to-50-point reputation anymore.
Charlie McAvoy’s 2026-27 Fantasy Hockey Projection
McAvoy finished 2025-26 with 11 goals, 50 assists and 61 points in 69 games, establishing a career high in points despite dealing with significant adversity during the season. He also averaged a team-high 24:23 of ice time per game.
That works out to approximately 0.88 points per game.
Maintaining even a slightly lower scoring rate across his available games in 2026-27 puts McAvoy comfortably into the low-to-mid 60s. My projection of 65 points requires approximately an 0.85-points-per-game pace over 76 games, assuming he plays every game after serving the six-game suspension.
That isn’t an aggressive leap. It’s actually a small regression from last year’s pace.
Charlie McAvoy
Why the Boston Bruins Power Play Could Keep McAvoy Above 60 Points
The biggest reason I’m willing to project another career-level season is McAvoy’s offensive environment.
A power-play unit built around Pastrnak’s shot, Geekie’s finishing ability, Zacha’s versatility and Lindholm’s ability around the middle of the ice gives McAvoy several ways to generate assists from the point.
McAvoy doesn’t have to become a 20-goal defenseman to be an elite fantasy option. His value is going to come from puck touches, secondary assists, shots through traffic and opportunities created by Boston’s best finishers.
That’s an important distinction when evaluating defensemen.
Some blueliners need an unsustainably high shooting percentage to reach their fantasy ceiling. McAvoy can get there primarily through assists.
Charlie McAvoy’s Three-Year Scoring Trend
The progression also deserves attention.
McAvoy produced 47 points in 74 games in 2023-24, dropped to 23 points in an injury-shortened 50-game 2024-25 campaign, and then exploded for 61 points in 69 games last season.
The important number isn’t simply 61.
It’s the scoring rate.
His points-per-game progression across those three seasons looks like this:
2023-24: 0.64 PPG
2024-25: 0.46 PPG
2025-26: 0.88 PPG
2026-27 projection: 0.86 PPG
That’s why I view 60 points as more of a reasonable floor if McAvoy stays healthy after his suspension than an ambitious ceiling.
Charlie McAvoy: Points Per Game Trend
My Fantasy Hockey Read on Charlie McAvoy
My biggest concern isn’t talent or opportunity. It’s availability.
McAvoy has endured several significant injuries during recent seasons, and now fantasy managers know they won’t have him for the opening six games.
That should push him slightly down draft boards.
It shouldn’t push him off them.
In fact, I think the suspension may actually create a small buying opportunity in fantasy drafts if other managers focus too heavily on the missed games. The difference between 76 games and 82 games is significant, but it’s not enough for me to ignore a defenseman capable of producing close to a point per game.
The Bruins also provided an encouraging health update this week. After dealing with a broken jaw during the regular season and a broken hand during the playoffs, McAvoy said, “I feel really good about where my body is at.”
For fantasy managers, that’s meaningful information entering training camp.
Charlie McAvoy 2026-27 Projected Stats
My final projection:
Goals: 12
Assists: 53
Points: 65
I would treat 58-60 points as the conservative range, approximately 65 points as the most likely outcome, and 68-plus points as the upside scenario if Boston’s power play is dangerous and McAvoy maintains last season’s scoring rate.
In leagues that reward shots, blocked shots or defenseman scoring bonuses, he becomes even more attractive. Last season McAvoy recorded 111 shots and 129 blocked shots while carrying Boston’s heaviest average workload.
For me, Charlie McAvoy enters 2026-27 as a legitimate upper-tier fantasy defenseman rather than merely a safe Bruins option.
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