Bruins’ Charlie McAvoy Suspended Six Games To Start 2026-27 Season
After a year bumps, bruises, and injury – top Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy will have to wait longer than most to play again. McAvoy has been suspended six games to start the 2026-27 season for his slash on Buffalo Sabres winger Zach Benson in Boston’s decisive loss on April 28, per Chris Johnston of The Athletic. McAvoy will forfeit just a bit more than $300K in salary due to the suspension, Johnston adds.
The incident leading to McAvoy’s slash occurred in the final 90 seconds of Boston’s season. On a race for a puck headed towards an empty net, Benson’s skate swept McAvoy’s legs from under him – causing the defender to crash into the end-boards. In response, McAvoy two-hand slashed Benson across his upper-body. He was assessed a game misconduct and major penalty on the play. Benson was also handed a minor penalty for tripping. The NHL explained that McAvoy used his stick as a weapon – even loading up for the strike – which led to the significant suspension.
This is McAvoy’s fourth run-in with the NHL Department of Player Safety. He was suspended one game in 2019 for a check to the head of Columbus Blue Jackets winger Josh Anderson. In 2022, McAvoy was fined $5K for tripping Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Brady Skjei. The first significant suspension of his career came at the start of the 2023-24 season, when McAvoy was forced to miss four games after a check to the head of Florida Panthers defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
Now, McAvoy’s record of suspensions will find a new low. His absence will leave a big hole in Boston’s lineup to start the season. He averaged 24:23 in ice time this season – three minutes more than anyone else on the roster. He finished the year with 11 goals and 61 points in 69 games, to go with 62 penalty minutes, 79 hits, and 129 shot blocks. Once again, his physical and relentless style of hockey made a difference for the Bruins – though it also led McAvoy to miss 13 games from a string of difficult injuries, including losing multiple teeth. A bit more discipline next season could go far in helping McAvoy avoid both injury and the Department of Safety.
The Bruins bumped Andrew Peeke up the lineup in McAvoy’s absence this season. They may not be able to do the same next season, with Peeke set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. He finished the 2025-26 season with 14 points, 105 hits, and a team-leading 135 shot blocks. Those impacts helped Peeke climb to an average 19:23 in ice time, nearly a minute more than he managed in his first season with Boston last year. After another season offering impactful depth, Peeke should be a strong candidate to re-sign with the Bruins who will have more than $16MM in cap space per PuckPedia. If Peeke moves on, the top right-defense role will be open to a summer signing for the first games of the season.
Boston Bruins Hypothetical Offseason Targets
As the Stanley Cup playoffs progress, it is becoming more evident that the remaining teams in contention for the Stanley Cup have a blend of speed and skill that benefits a team’s game in all facets. According to Shawn Hutcheon of The Fourth Period, the Boston Bruins are looking to add that exact attribute to their offseason checklist.
Before the 2025-26 NHL season, Bruins management entered with a clear indication of what style they wanted their roster to play like. A hard-nosed, physical team that would be a hard-out in every contest, no matter the circumstances. As a team with a fan base that expects a competitive hockey club to contend for a championship, this was the foundation laid by President Cam Neely and General Manager Don Sweeney in their construction of this past year’s Bruins squad.
The Bruins proved themselves a tough team to roll over throughout 2025-26; they ended with 18 wins (fourth in NHL) after allowing a goal first. Having made the playoffs after a tumultuous year in which they selected seventh overall in the 2025 NHL Draft, management found a key weakness in their first-round matchup with the Buffalo Sabres: speed. Neely said that it was an attribute that the team was looking to acquire in “one way, shape, or form.”
The Sabres finished second in the regular season in 18-20 mph skating speed bursts with 6962 per NHL EDGE, and had Beck Malenstyn, who finished with the top skating speed recorded all year at 24.94 mph. If you compare both teams in terms of speed bursts, Buffalo had nearly one hundred speed bursts at 22mph or higher. Boston’s players eclipsed that number just 54 times in comparison.
So where do the Bruins go from here? Now that their season has ended, they have a lengthy window to evaluate where they can address their lack of speed. Boston currently holds the 23rd overall pick as their highest of seven total draft picks that they’d ideally use to restock their prospect pool. If they wanted to, they could take a swing and make a trade for a player who could complement the team’s current forward group and elevate the team’s pace. How they’ll approach that remains to be seen, but with a little above $16MM in cap space, there is some wiggle room to find a fit.
Option 1: Owen Tippett
Tippett is a familiar name for those who kept tabs on the rumor mill with the Bruins during the 2026 NHL Trade Deadline. The 27-year-old winger finished his 2025-26 season with 28 goals and 51 points in 81 games and added two points in six playoff games with the Flyers before suffering a sports hernia injury that sidelined him in Philadelphia’s eventual second-round loss to Carolina.
Tippett, with the tenth-highest top speed tracked at 23.97 mph, would be an accessible option for the Bruins to package assets in a trade for his services. Not only would he add the goal-scoring touch that Boston would benefit from in their middle-six forward group, but he finished this season 2nd among all NHL skaters in most +22 mph speed bursts with 61 total. He tallied more than stars like Tim Stutzle, Nathan MacKinnon, Martin Necas, Brayden Point, and trailed Connor McDavid (151) for most bursts above that mark.
Option 2: Bobby McMann
The forward with a 6-foot-2, 209 lb frame may not appeal as a speedy option when reading that profile, but McMann is a fast player at that size. McMann tracked the league’s seventh fastest top speed at 24.25 mph and finished with 28 speed bursts above 22 mph.
McCann’s current situation makes him an even more appealing option. The 29-year-old is coming off a 14-point stretch in 18 games after the trade deadline when the Toronto Maple Leafs sent him to the Seattle Kraken for a 2027 second-round pick and a 2026 fourth-round pick. His 32 points with the Maple Leafs before that deal total 46 points in 78 games this past year. A career year will command a solid salary as McMann enters his 30’s, but one the Bruins could consider signing when July 1 hits.
Option 3: Olen Zellweger
Zellweger is a younger option the Bruins could consider; however, it would be one that would cost a prettier penny. Among all Ducks defensemen this past year, no one was faster than Zellweger. He tracked a top skating speed of 22.49 mph and eight +22 speed bursts
Zellweger had not seen ice-time in the playoffs in any capacity up until last night’s Game 4 win over the Vegas Golden Knights and hadn’t skated since April 7th of the regular season. He is 22 years old, and his entry-level contract is expiring, making him a restricted free agent this summer with Anaheim. The Bruins could use a youthful jolt on their left side, especially one with NHL experience; the former 2021 second-round pick had 22 points in 76 games this year.
Given the roster turnover Boston has had over the last two years, the team is significantly younger than it has been. Younger pieces like Fraser Minten and Marat Khusnutdinov are the team’s faster players, who could lean on speed development if none of these outside pieces become available. However, if the team wants to keep pace with the Montreal’s and Buffalo’s of the East, getting uncomfortable and making a swing would be in their best interest.
Bruins Notes: Pastrnak, Sturm, Hagens
Following a first-round exit at the hands of the Buffalo Sabres, the Boston Bruins’ leadership met with the media on Wednesday for a candid end-of-season press conference. While CEO Charlie Jacobs expressed confidence that the organization is on the “right track,” the overarching theme of the day was the identified need for high-end personnel upgrades. President Cam Neely was blunt regarding the roster’s current construction, stating that the team lacks a true No. 1 center and must prioritize adding both talent and speed this summer to become a legitimate Stanley Cup contender.
Additional Bruins notes:
- Cam Neely identified the lack of a premier center as a primary concern. He noted that the solution could come from “growing one from within” or looking “outside our group,” but emphasized that the vacancy must be rectified to move the needle in the postseason.
- Addressing David Pastrnak’s comments about turning 30 and wanting to maximize his prime, Don Sweeney acknowledged the need to “accelerate” the team’s improvement. Sweeney noted that “everything is in play,” including the potential use of future assets to bolster the current roster.
- Sweeney praised first-year head coach Marco Sturm for making the team “a hell of a lot more competitive.” While the foundation is set, management plans to “tweak” the defensive system to eliminate the inconsistencies that crept into their game late in the season.
- The Bruins remain without a captain, but Neely confirmed that discussions for next season have already begun. While Sweeney views leadership as a “collective thing,” Marco Sturm will have a significant voice in determining if a single player will wear the “C” next year.
- Sweeney discussed top prospect James Hagens, noting he would have preferred Hagens play for the Providence Bruins in the AHL playoffs rather than Team USA at the World Championships, but “rules are rules.” He cautioned that the path to the NHL remains a difficult “A-Z” journey.
- Several Bruins are confirmed for the upcoming World Championships, including Joonas Korpisalo and Henri Jokiharju (Finland), James Hagens, Sean Kuraly, and Mason Lohrei (USA), and Fraser Minten (Canada).
Bruins Reassign Lukas Reichel
5/3/26: The Bruins reassigned Reichel to Providence today, according to a team announcement.
5/2/26: While Boston’s playoff run is over, one of their players will still have some postseason action on the horizon. PuckPedia reports that the Bruins have placed winger Lukas Reichel on waivers for the purpose of assignment to AHL Providence.
This is the second time that the 23-year-old has been on waivers this season. Vancouver acquired Reichel early in the season from Chicago for a fourth-round pick in the hopes that he could give a banged-up roster a bit of a lift. However, he struggled and some of their injured players returned, resulting in the Canucks waiving him in mid-December, where he passed through unclaimed.
Looking for some extra winger depth at the trade deadline, the Bruins flipped a sixth-round pick to Vancouver to acquire Reichel and left him briefly in the minors. He eventually was recalled, getting into ten games down the stretch before returning to the AHL. Reichel was then brought up for the postseason and suited up once against the Sabres.
On the season, Reichel played in just 29 NHL games between Chicago, Vancouver, and Boston, notching three goals and five assists. He also picked up 19 points in 27 AHL contests and added three more in five games for Germany at the Olympics. For his career, Reichel has 23 goals and 39 assists in 198 career NHL contests.
A first-round pick back in 2020 (17th overall), Reichel is slated to become a restricted free agent this summer and will be owed a $1.3MM qualifying offer with salary arbitration rights. At this point, it seems unlikely he’ll receive that. That also makes it quite unlikely that he’ll be claimed by Sunday’s 1 PM CT deadline, paving the way for him to return to Providence as the league-leading Bruins look to have a long postseason run.
Latest On Bruins Captaincy
- Boston Bruins head coach Marco Sturm told the media today that he is comfortable with the team’s current leadership structure, and may not necessarily enter 2026-27 with a captain. The Bruins have not had a captain since they traded Brad Marchand to the Florida Panthers. The team had four alternate captains in 2025-26: Elias Lindholm, Hampus Lindholm, Charlie McAvoy, and David Pastrnak. Among that quartet, McAvoy and Pastrnak are the most likely candidates, at face value, to be captain given the length of their respective tenures in Boston.
Bruins Notes: Zadorov, Arvidsson, Lindholm
Boston Bruins defenseman Nikita Zadorov played the latter portion of the team’s first-round series against the Buffalo Sabres with an MCL that was “fully [torn] off the bone,” he told the media yesterday. Zadorov’s status was up in the air before game five. But other than that moment, his availability for games was not seen to be in question. The injury did appear to impact his play, though, as The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa wrote Zadorov “was compromised” after his MCL tear.
Zadorov, 31, is one of Boston’s most experienced defensemen and a blueliner who plays a significant role in head coach Marco Sturm‘s lineup. Standing 6’7″, 255 pounds, Zadorov scored 22 points in 81 games this season, also registering 152 penalty minutes and 196 hits. He averaged 20:52 time on ice per game during the regular season, good for No. 3 on the team.
Other notes from Boston:
- Zadorov wasn’t the only Bruins veteran battling an injury against the Sabres. Veteran forward Viktor Arvidsson sustained a fractured rib and punctured lung, relays Conor Ryan of the Boston Globe. Arvidsson was No. 4 on the Bruins in scoring in the regular season, potting 25 goals and 54 points in 69 games. He suffered his injury in game four and wasn’t able to play in games five or six. The 33-year-old, who scored just 27 points the year before joining the Bruins, is set to become a UFA this summer.
- While some players suffer injuries only during the course of a playoff series, other suffer the injuries earlier in the season and the ailments just become something to manage over the course of the entire rest of the campaign. Veteran defenseman Hampus Lindholm is one of the players in the latter category, as he told the media today that he played through a foot fracture that he first suffered in December. The Bruins’ No. 2 defenseman behind Charlie McAvoy has seen his last two campaigns defined by injury, as a lower-body injury limited him to just 17 games played in 2024-25. This past season, he scored 26 points in 67 contests averaging 21:37 time on ice per game.
Bruins Invite Max Burkholder To Development Camp
- The Boston Bruins have invited Colorado College captain Max Burkholder to their development camp, reports Mark Divver of New England Hockey Journal. The 22-year-old is an undersized right-shot defenseman who had a breakout sophomore campaign in 2024-25. That year, he scored 26 points in 37 games and was named to the NCHC’s Second All-Star team. A lower-body injury cost him all but three games this year, but he’ll still get the chance to show off his talents at development camp with the hope of potentially earning a pro contract down the line.
Charlie McAvoy Offered In-Person Hearing For Slash On Zach Benson
It was a tough end to the playoffs for Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy. On top of his team losing in six games to Buffalo on Friday, the veteran was ejected from the game for a slash on Sabres winger Zach Benson. In response, the Department of Player Safety announced (Twitter link) that McAvoy has been offered an in-person hearing. The date and time of the hearing have yet to be determined but with Boston done for the season, there is no need to hold it over the next day or two.
The in-person element is particularly important. While a phone hearing carries a maximum of a five-game suspension, an in-person hearing allows the league to suspend him for longer than that. If that were to happen, the NHLPA would then have an opportunity to appeal to Commissioner Gary Bettman as well.
The incident occurred late in the third period of Friday’s game. Benson was set to receive a slew-foot tripping minor on McAvoy and while play continued, McAvoy chased down Benson and gave him a baseball-swing slash, receiving a minor, major, and a game misconduct on the play. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was among those to provide a video clip of the play.
McAvoy has two suspensions on his record. He received a one-game ban in 2019 for an illegal check to the head on then-Columbus winger Josh Anderson in the playoffs and a four-game suspension in 2023 for an illegal check to the head on then-Florida blueliner Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Any supplementary discipline received will be served at the start of next season.
James Hagens Expected To Play For Team USA At World Championship
It has been an eventful season for Bruins center James Hagens, to put it lightly. He has already played for four separate teams in 2025-26 and it appears he’ll be adding to that total. Mark Divver of the New England Hockey Journal reports (Twitter link) that Hagens is expected to play for Team USA at the upcoming Worlds which begin later this month.
The seventh overall pick last June, Hagens spent most of the season at the NCAA level with Boston College, where he picked up 23 goals and 24 assists in just 34 games to lead his team in scoring. Midseason, he suited up for Team USA at the World Juniors and had a productive showing there as well, notching seven points in five contests.
That performance was good enough for Boston to decide to turn Hagens pro. However, they opted to have him take a bit of a different route. Instead of joining the big club right away, they signed him to an AHL tryout, allowing him to get his feet wet with Providence. He picked up a goal and three assists in six games with them, earning a full entry-level contract a little less than four weeks ago.
Hagens got into a pair of regular season games in the final week to get his NHL debut out of the way but ultimately didn’t play a regular role in the postseason. Hagens played in three of six games against Buffalo but was held off the scoresheet. Despite being 19 and only playing in five NHL games, his contract isn’t eligible to slide as he turns 20 in November. He’s also not eligible to return to Providence to aid in their playoff run. However, he won’t accrue a year of service time toward UFA eligibility so Boston still has seven full seasons of club control.
Between his four teams this season, Hagens has played in 50 games so far. He’ll now get a chance to add up to ten more while in Switzerland while trying to end his year on a high note.
Nikita Zadorov Sustained Torn MCL Midway Through First Round
Boston’s season came to an end on Friday night as they lost to Buffalo, ending the series in six games. Following the outing, Bruins defenseman Nikita Zadorov revealed to reporters including Boston.com’s Conor Ryan that he sustained a torn MCL in the third game of the series.
Before last night, he had indicated that he was playing through something but hadn’t indicated what. It appears as if the injury is on the severe side, too, as Zadorov mentioned that the ligament was fully torn off the bone.
While MCL injuries aren’t generally as severe as ACL ones, a fully torn MCL may still require surgery with a recovery timeline pushing three months. That should have him fully recovered heading into training camp in the fall but his overall offseason training will certainly be impacted by this injury.
Although Zadorov was far from fully healthy, it didn’t seem to affect his playing time all that much. He logged 19:20 of playing time in Game 4, 23:11 in Game 5, and 21:52 last night, all around his regular season ATOI of 20:53.
Zadorov was the league leader in penalty minutes for the second straight season and after a 37-PIM performance in the opening round, he’s currently leading the way in that category as well. Beyond that, he chipped in with an assist and 17 hits in the series.