Boston Bruins restricted free agent defenseman Charlie McAvoy joined an array of NHLers who grew up playing in Boston and the New England area Monday night for the annual Corey Griffin Foundation Happy Hour at Coppersmith Restaurant and Bar in South Boston. The event honors the beloved member of the local hockey scene and one of the founders and advocates of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.

Griffin passed away in August 2014 and the event has become an All-Star show of support for the foundation.

“This is really something special,” McAvoy said. “Every guy who plays in the NHL from Massachusetts, and a lot of guys I play against and play with, they’re all here tonight to support the Corey Griffin Foundation. So, I think that’s pretty incredible.”

Boston Hockey Now was privileged to cover the event, but we also spoke with McAvoy about several topics, including is his contract status. Predictably, McAvoy couldn’t say too much publicly about the negotiations or lack thereof, but it was obvious he would like the process to be over.

“It would be nice,” McAvoy told Boston Hockey Now. “Once it gets done, you can carry on with what you’re doing.”

McAvoy decided to set up shop in Boston this summer instead of heading home to his native Long Beach, NY. He has been working out at Agannis Arena where he spent two seasons patrolling the blue line for Boston University before turning pro with the Bruins in the 2017 Stanley Cup playoffs.

“Go back to my grassroots. We got a good group of guys, a couple of Bruins actually, so going to get back at it and start skating soon,” McAvoy said.

One of those Bruins working out with McAvoy is fellow Bruins blueliner and McAvoy’s teammate Matt Grzelcyk. Grzelcyk was also in attendance to celebrate Griffin, whom he knew through Boston hockey circles. The Charlestown, MA native is hoping the stalemate between McAvoy and the team will have his teammate and a good friend signed, sealed and delivered for Bruins training camp next month.

“We try not to bother him too much about that, but hopefully he figures that out soon and we get back to hockey,” Grzelcyk told BHN.

McAvoy was not eligible for arbitration this offseason and could not be rendered an offer sheet as well. Still as the first full week of August arrived, McAvoy, 21, and the cornerstone of the Bruins blue line going forward as captain Zdeno Chara plays out his final few seasons remains unsigned. Bruins team President Cam Neely recently told Joe Haggerty of NBC Sports Boston that the Bruins were beginning a contingency plan in case McAvoy and fellow RFA rearguard Brandon Carlo were not signed by the start of training camp. Within three days, the Bruins offered unrestricted free agent defenseman Alex Petrovic a professional tryout as reported by Alex Thomas here.

Neely also indicated that McAvoy’s injury history thus far is playing a role in contract negotiations.

“You look at a player that’s had some health issues two years in a row at a young age,” Neely said of McAvoy who missed 28 games last season. “You look at that and say ‘Okay, is that going to stay the same or is it just bad luck?’ We all can see what Charlie is capable of doing. You’d like to see a bigger sample size, obviously. Since the cap has come into effect we’ve all seen deals that have been signed where three years down the road you say it’s not as good as you anticipated it would be.”

McAvoy had seven goals and 21 assists during the regular season and then had two goals and six assists in 23 games during the Bruins’ run to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. McAvoy has 46 helpers and 60 points in 117 regular season games and 13 assists and 16 points in 41 playoff games.