While the Boston Bruins did manage to return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs this last season despite being part of the heavily competitive Atlantic Division, the bad news is that they were eliminated in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal by the rival Buffalo Sabres.
And unfortunately for the Bruins, they’ll begin next season without defenseman Charlie McAvoy for the first six games of the campaign; his actions at the end of Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal against Zach Benson were sufficient enough to warrant a multi-game suspension.
Even so, the Bruins are hoping for a second straight trip to the postseason, and hope McAvoy will be back into form by the time that he returns to their lineup.
Boston Bruins Defenseman Charlie McAvoy Recounts Bloody Injury During Olympic Gold Medal Win
McAvoy recently made an appearance on the “Wingmen” podcast with his Team USA Olympic teammates Matthew and Brady Tkachuk, and he recounted how intense the celebration was of their victory over Team Canada that he didn’t know that he’d gotten a brutal and bloody cut on his face.
“I think someone asked me who I hugged first, and I’m like, ‘I have to go back and watch’,” he said. “Like, I don’t know. And then I’m looking at all the pictures after, and I’m like, ‘Why is my face all bloody?’ Annie’s bottom row legit went through my, like, like, I think I still have, like, the scar here. I was all bloodied up. I was, like, blood on people’s, like, white shirts. I didn’t even know I was bleeding. Probably needed stitches, I didn’t get them.”
Unfortunately for McAvoy, his season was also marked by a gruesome injury months earlier in November when he was struck by a shot from Montreal Canadiens defenseman Noah Dobson in the jaw; he suffered a severe linear jaw fracture and lost four bottom teeth.
Charlie McAvoy Was Suspended For The First Six Games Of The 2026-27 Season
Near the end of Boston’s loss to the Bruins in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal, McAvoy slashed Buffalo’s Zach Benson, and was ejected from the game.
Even though Boston’s season was over, McAvoy wasn’t off the hook for his actions. Following a review by the NHL Department of Player Safety, he was slapped with a six-game suspension for the start of next season.
“This is slashing,” the NHL DPS said of the incident. “All parties agree that this is an intentional and forceful strike delivered to an opponent’s body specifically for the purpose of retribution and message sending. In addition, all parties agree that this play occurs outside of actual game play, and in a situation where the outcome of both the game and the series have been decided.”
This past season, McAvoy, whom the Bruins selected in the first round (14th overall pick) of the 2014 NHL Draft, appeared in 69 games and scored 11 goals with 50 assists for 61 points with a plus-13 rating.
He’s skated in 573 career regular season games, and has tallied a total of 71 goals with 290 assists.
Bruins’ Charlie McAvoy Opens Up About Gruesome Olympic Injury