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NHL Upholds Charlie McAvoy’s Suspension

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Nov. 8: After the appeal process, Bettman has decided to uphold McAvoy’s four-game suspension, Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic reports.

Nov. 2: Sportnet’s Elliotte Friedman tweeted that Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy is planning to appeal the four-game suspension he received for his illegal check to the head of Florida Panthers defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson. McAvoy had a phone hearing with the Department of Player Safety on Tuesday shortly before he received news of the suspension.

Much like the Calgary Flames’ Rasmus Andersson suspension appeal, Gary Bettman would hear a McAvoy appeal because the suspension is for less than six games. In the case of Andersson, Bettman rejected the appeal and kept the suspension at four games.

McAvoy had just scored the game-tying goal mere moments before the hit occurred in the third period of Monday night’s game against Florida. McAvoy hit Ekman-Larsson with a blindside check in which the initial impact was the head of the Panthers defenseman. McAvoy was assessed a five-minute match penalty and was kicked out of the game. Ekman-Larsson was hurt on the play and stayed on the ice but did remain in the game.

The Long Beach, New York native was suspended once before back in 2019 when he was involved in a hit to the head of then Columbus Blue Jackets forward Josh Anderson during the Bruins run to the Stanley Cup Finals.

McAvoy is sitting out the first game of his suspension tonight as the Bruins battle the Toronto Maple Leafs. If McAvoy’s suspension is upheld by Bettman then the 25-year-old won’t be eligible to return to the lineup until November 11th against the Montreal Canadiens.

Charlie McAvoy Suspension Appeal Updates

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Last night, it was reported that Boston Bruins defenseman, Charlie McAvoy would appeal the suspension given to him by the league for an illegal check to the head of Florida Panthers defenseman, Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Originally, the league determined that McAvoy would be issued a four-game suspension, and there are a few updates on the appeal process.

McAvoy did not play in last night’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs due to the suspension, as well as defensemen Matt Grzelcyk and Derek Forbort due to injuries, severely limiting the depth of the Bruins blue line. Up to this point in the season, McAvoy has played in nine games for Boston, scoring two goals and six assists while averaging nearly 24 minutes of ice time per night.

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  • One of many new additions to the offensive core of the Detroit Red Wings, the team has announced that Christian Fischer is considered day-to-day, and may not play in tomorrow night’s game against the Bruins. Fischer has primarily been employed in a fourth-line role for the team after being non-tendered by the Arizona Coyotes last summer and has provided one assist through 11 games to start the year.

Derek Forbort Considered Day-To-Day

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After placing defenseman Matt Grzelcyk on LTIR yesterday, the Boston Bruins have received more unfortunate news for their blue line before their important game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, tonight. Speaking with media this morning, head coach of the Bruins, Jim Montgomery, announced that Derek Forbort is considered day-to-day with an undisclosed injury, and also will not play for Boston tonight.

The depth of one of the Bruins’ best qualities to start the season will surely be tested against a potent Maple Leafs offense. As was already made public yesterday, Boston did call up a trio of defensemen to replace some of the lost minutes, as Mason Lohrei, Ian Mitchell, and Parker Wotherspoon will all get a spot on the NHL roster.

In the press conference, Montgomery did mention that the team would primarily be looking at Lohrei and Wotherspoon to take over Forbort’s minutes, but their playing time will ultimately be influenced by the pace of the game tonight. So far this year, Lohrei has been playing for the team’s AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins, garnering four assists in seven games.

This weekend, the Bruins are set to take on another Original Six rival in the Detroit Red Wings, which Fobort could ultimately play in if the injury is not severe. Nevertheless, if he is unable to play for the team on Saturday, he should be able to play in all three of Boston’s games next week.

Boston Bruins Place Matt Grzelcyk On Long-Term Injured Reserve, Recall Three

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The Boston Bruins have placed defenseman Matt Grzelcyk on long-term injured reserve, according to a team announcement. As a result, Grzelcyk will not be eligible to play until late November.

In addition to placing Grzelcyk on LTIR, the team has also placed forward Jakub Lauko on traditional injured reserve, and recalled defensemen Mason Lohrei, Ian Mitchell, and Parker Wotherspoon from their AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins.

Grzelcyk, 29, lands on LTIR after leaving the Bruins’ October 30th contest with an upper-body injury. Grzelcyk has established himself as a top-four defenseman in Boston, having scored at least 20 points in four consecutive seasons and averaged over 18 minutes of ice time per game in his NHL career.

He’s gotten off to a slow start this season, but thanks to his $3.687MM cap hit his LTIR placement provides the Bruins with the financial headroom to make this trio of recalls.

The most noable name in the list of players called up is Lohrei, who ranks among the top prospects in a thin Bruins prospect system. Set to turn 23 in January, the 2020 second-round pick is a rangy, mobile blueliner who scored well across his two-year collegiate career with the Ohio State Buckeyes.

So far, Lohrei has just 15 professional games on his resume. But with this recall, he is now positioned to potentially make his NHL debut on a Bruins’ roster that, before these recalls, boasted just four defensemen eligible to play.

As for Mitchell and Wotherspoon, neither holds the kind of upside or top prospect intrigue that Lohrei has. What they do have that Lohrei doesn’t, though, is significant experience playing pro hockey and some NHL experience. Mitchell, 24, has played 84 career NHL games while Wotherspoon has 12 NHL games and nearly 300 in the AHL.

As a right-shot blueliner, Mitchell is the likeliest candidate to immediately land in the NHL lineup while head coach Jim Montgomery will have to choose between Wotherspoon and Lohrei as to which left-shot defensemen he’ll dress for games.

That being said, the left-shot blueliners may stand a stronger chance at lasting on the NHL roster beyond the next four games. Once Charlie McAvoy’s suspension ends, a major void on the right side of the Bruins’ defense gets filled.

Meanwhile, Grzelcyk is set for a more extended absence, meaning Lohrei or Wotherspoon could extend their stay on the NHL roster beyond Mitchell, assuming they can handle the NHL minutes thrown their way.

Bruins’ Charlie McAvoy Suspended Four Games

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Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy has been suspended four games for an illegal check to the head against Panthers defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson in Monday night’s overtime win, the NHL Department of Player Safety said today. McAvoy faced a phone hearing earlier today.

This is the third suspension of the 2023-24 regular season and the fourth to stretch into the regular season. Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson is just now gearing up to return from a four-game suspension for charging (and injuring) Blue Jackets forward Patrik Laine, while Kings winger Arthur Kaliyev served a four-game suspension split evenly between the preseason and regular season earlier this month. Sabres defenseman Connor Clifton was also assessed a two-game penalty.

In a video explanation for the suspension, NHL DoPS gave the following explanation for the suspension:

It is important to note that both elements of the Illegal Check to the Head rule are satisfied on this play. First, the head is the main point of contact, as McAvoy makes direct, forceful contact with Ekman-Larsson’s head, and it is the head that absorbs the majority of the force of the check. Second, the head contact on this play is avoidable. McAvoy chooses an angle of approach that cuts across the front of Ekman-Larsson’s body, missing his core and picking his head. If McAvoy wants to deliver this hit, he must stay low and choose an angle that hits through Ekman-Larsson’s shoulder and core, rather than one that makes the head the main point of contact. 

McAvoy was assessed a match penalty on the play, which occurred with over ten minutes remaining in regulation and just a few minutes after McAvoy had scored the game-tying goal, by on-ice officials. While not a late hit by league standards, Ekman-Larsson did not have possession of the puck when the collision occurred, and McAvoy’s shoulder area contacted Ekman-Larsson’s face and jaw, swinging his head to the side with force. Ekman-Larsson did not return to the game.

McAvoy’s history with DoPS influenced the length of the suspension. He missed a game during the Bruins’ run to the 2019 Stanley Cup Final due to a suspension, also for an illegal check to the head.

This now means the Bruins will be without their top defense pair for the next couple of games, at least. Matt Grzelcyk left the Florida game due to an upper-body injury and is expected to miss a handful of games. That means a recall is likely for top defense prospect Mason Lohrei, who would make his NHL debut at home against the Maple Leafs on Thursday.

Bruins Announce Matthew Poitras Is Staying In NHL

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The Boston Bruins have announced that Matthew Poitras is staying in the NHL. The team was faced with the decision of whether or not to send Poitras back to the Guelph Storm of the OHL, as he’ll spend a year of his contract if he plays in one more NHL game. The rookie is currently tied for sixth on the team in scoring, with five points in his nine games on the season.

Matt Poitras has emerged as one of the most exciting parts of Boston’s early season, establishing himself as a standout during training camp and earning an NHL role over 190 NHL game veteran Jesper Boqvist or top prospects John Farinacci and Fabian Lysell. And Poitras has certainly run away with the opportunity, scoring consistently and recording a 52.76 CF% and 55.23 xGF% – both strong underlying statistics, especially for a rookie.

Poitras is one of two rookies on the current Bruins lineup, with fourth-line man John Beecher playing in his inaugural year as well. Beecher hasn’t found the same stride that Poitras has, rocking a sole assist, nine penalty minutes, and a -3 through his first nine NHL games. Beecher has held onto his role in light of injuries to other depth forwards, including Milan Lucic and Jakub Lauko. The underscoring of top AHL options has also helped Beecher out – as Farinacci only has five points and Lysell only four in their first seven AHL games this season.

Boston making a firm decision on Poitras is exciting to see, especially as they’re faced with a slew of questions about their defense. Matt Grzelcyk went down with an injury of his own, and Charlie McAvoy is facing suspension, effectively removing the team’s top defense pairing. They’ll need to make call-ups from the AHL to ice a full blue line for their next game.

Matt Grzelyck Leaves Game With Apparent Injury

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David Dwork of The Hockey News is reporting that Sam Bennett of the Florida Panthers has left tonight’s game against the Boston Bruins with what appears to be a left leg injury. Bennett was returning to the Panthers after missing the first seven games with a lower-body injury.

The 27-year-old was battling for position with Bruins defenseman Hampus Lindholm when Lindholm appeared to put his skate on the back of Bennett’s left leg. Lindholm’s weight then appeared to crash down on Bennett’s ankle. Bennett went down grabbing at his lower leg, as he rolled on the ice in pain. The Panthers helped Bennett off the ice as he put no weight on his left leg before limping to the team’s dressing room.

In other notes from the Atlantic Division:

  • The Boston Bruins have announced that defenseman Matt Grzelcyk has left tonight’s game and will not return after sustaining an upper-body injury. Not much is known currently about the injury, but Grzelcyk didn’t play after the halfway mark of the first period in the Bruins game against the Florida Panthers. The 29-year-old has had a bit of a slow start to his eighth season with the Bruins as he has just a single goal in nine games thus far.
  • CapFriendly is reporting that the Tampa Bay Lightning have activated forward Jack Finley off the season-opening injury reserve and assigned him to the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL. The 21-year-old Finley scored 12 goals and had 9 assists in his rookie season in the AHL last year as he dressed in 67 games for the Crunch. Finley could make an impact in the NHL in the coming seasons as it is hard to ignore his ability to get around the ice with his 6’6” 223-pound frame. For now, he will remain a depth option in the AHL as he attempts to develop the offensive side of his game.

Boston Bruins Sign Danton Heinen To One-Year Deal

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The Boston Bruins have signed Danton Heinen to a one-year contract with a league-minimum $775K cap hit.

The status of Heinen was the final decision that Boston needed to make during their training camp, with the forward signed to a professional try-out and working with the team for as long as he could. The Bruins surprisingly left Heinen unsigned, but are now circling back after starting the season with a scorching 7-0-1 record.

Heinen played the last two seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins, netting 22 points in 65 games last year and 33 points in 76 games in 2021-22. It was two modest seasons, with Heinen struggling to reach the career-high 47-point mark he set in 2017-18. Despite low scoring output, Heinen did record strong underlying statistics in Pittsburgh, tallying a 72.69 xGF% and 52.80 CF% over his two years with the club. Now 28 years old, Heinen has found a comfortable role in the NHL as a depth forward; a role he’s sure to find in Boston as well.

The Bruins recently recalled Oskar Steen to the NHL, suiting him up in their most recent match against the Detroit Red Wings. Steen went without a point in the four-goal outing, although he did record a +1, two shots, and two hits. With Milan Lucic now on injured reserve, Boston is only carrying one extra forward, Jakub Lauko, who is battling an injury of his own. Heinen’s signing gives Boston another forward option to work with. And while he doesn’t have a precedent of high-scoring, Heinen could also bring a needed spark to a Bruins fourth-line that’s only combined for one goal – John Beecher’s first NHL goal – through eight games this season.

Danton Heinen Full Participant In Practice, Could Sign Monday

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Free agent forward Danton Heinen is still on a professional tryout with the Bruins almost a month into the season, but it appears that’s about to change. The 28-year-old took full line rushes with the Bruins at practice this morning, indicating a contract signing could come ahead of Monday’s game against the Panthers.

The 6-foot-1, 188-pound winger is expected to make his return to Beantown in a fourth-line role with John Beecher and Oskar Steen if he does sign, with Patrick Brown sitting out. The Bruins currently have nearly $1.5MM in cap space to play with – forward Milan Lucic is on long-term injured reserve due to a lower-body injury, giving GM Don Sweeney some flexibility he’s yet to have this season. Heinen, a fourth-round pick of the Bruins in 2014, amassed 103 points in 220 contests with the team before they traded him to the Ducks during the 2019-20 season.

Joe Thornton Officially Announces Retirement

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2006 Hart Trophy winner and longtime San Jose Sharks pivot Joe Thornton has officially confirmed his retirement from pro hockey, per a video release from the Sharks. The 44-year-old did not play during the 2022-23 season, last suiting up for the Florida Panthers in 2021-22.

Rarely does a player with such a clear path to a spot in the Hall of Fame hang up the skates. While he only won two major trophies (the Hart and the Art Ross in 2006) and never lifted a Stanley Cup, the 1997 first-overall pick is widely regarded as one of the best playmakers in NHL history, and for good reason.

Entering the 1997 NHL Draft, Thornton was the clear choice at first overall for the Boston Bruins, who had finished last in the NHL with a 26-47-9 record the year before. “Jumbo Joe” was coming off an electric season with the OHL’s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, notching 41 goals and 81 assists for 122 points in just 59 games. His transition to pro hockey was far from smooth, however. In 1997-98, his NHL rookie season, Thornton averaged just 8:05 per game under head coach Pat Burns and scored just seven points in 55 games. It didn’t look like Thornton would develop into the elite and durable playmaker he ended up being.

Thornton’s point totals would increase over the coming seasons until his true arrival in 2000-01 when he posted a career-high 37 goals and added 34 assists for 71 points in 72 contests. He would hover around (and usually above) the point-per-game mark over the next 15-plus years. Named the Bruins’ captain in 2002-23, succeeding Jason Allison, Thornton’s playmaking immediately exploded. He had 65 assists that year and cracked the 100-point plateau for the first time, although the Bruins struggled defensively and would succumb to the New Jersey Devils in that year’s Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.

Unlike others, Thornton would not lose an entire season to the 2004-05 NHL lockout. At 25 years old, Thornton took his talents overseas for a campaign with HC Davos in the Swiss National League, scoring 54 points (44 of them assists) in 40 games. That would start a relationship between Thornton and Davos that still exists today, as he returned to play for Davos during the 2012-13 lockout and briefly during the 2020-21 campaign and has served with them in guest coaching capacities over the past couple of years.

Returning to NHL action in 2005-06, the 26-year-old Thornton had an incredible start to the season, posting over an assist per game in 23 contests with the Bruins. It wasn’t enough to buoy a defensively weak squad, however, and the team was well below the .500 mark on November 30, 2005 – the date Boston traded Thornton to the San Jose Sharks for a three-player haul of German scoring winger Marco Sturm, top-four defender Brad Stuart, and checking center Wayne Primeau. Thornton would continue his heroics in a Sharks jersey, posting 20 goals and an astounding 72 assists for 92 points in 58 contests post-trade, boosting right winger Jonathan Cheechoo to one of the most unlikely NHL goal-scoring titles in league history. Cheechoo, 25 at the time, had 56 goals in 82 games. He would be out of the NHL entirely by the team he turned 30.

On the whole, Thornton had 96 assists and 125 points in 81 games in 2005-06. He would again crack the 90-assist plateau in 2006-07, finishing the year with 114 points. He would remain over a point per game for the next three seasons as league-wide scoring slowly dwindled, and a Sharks team with increasing depth allowed them to reduce Thornton’s minutes ever so slightly. The Sharks would name him captain ahead of the 2010-11 season, although an incredible core that included Thornton and NHL all-time games played leader Patrick Marleau could never quite get the Sharks to a championship.

That almost changed in 2016, when Thornton, now 36, hit the point-per-game mark for the first time in six years and dominated possession, finishing top-five in both Hart Trophy and Selke Trophy voting. With an elite core that boasted Brent Burns, Joe Pavelski and Marc-Édouard Vlasic in their primes, the Sharks finally advanced to a Stanley Cup Final but were defeated in six games by Sidney Crosby, rookie netminder Matt Murray, and the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Sharks would get close to a Cup one more time during Thornton’s tenure in 2019 but lost in the Western Conference Final to the eventual champion St. Louis Blues.

After signing three consecutive one-year deals to remain a Shark, Thornton left the team in 2020 to chase a championship with his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs. His best days now far behind him at age 41, Thornton still managed to add some depth production with 20 points in 44 contests, but he had just one goal in seven playoff games as Toronto was upset by the rival Montreal Canadiens in the First Round. He would sign another one-year contract for 2021-22, this time with the Panthers, but played an increasingly limited role. He suited up in just 34 of 82 games, averaged a hair over 11 minutes per game, and posted ten points. After Florida was eliminated in the Second Round by the Tampa Bay Lightning, it became clear Thornton had likely played his last NHL game.

It’s hard to imagine Thornton not getting the call to the Hall when he’s eligible for induction in 2025. The Ontario product finished his NHL career with 1,714 games played (sixth all-time), 1,109 assists (seventh all-time), and 1,539 points (12th all-time), easily putting him in the conversation for one of the 30 or 40 greatest skaters to ever touch NHL ice.

PHR wishes Thornton the absolute best in whatever awaits him in the next stage of his hockey career.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports.

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