Charlie McAvoy is sitting at home while his team tries to win, and he owns the mistake. The Bruins captain will miss the first six games of the 2026-27 season because he lost his cool in Game 6 against Buffalo. He slashed Zach Benson after a slew-foot from behind sent him crashing into the boards. McAvoy called the hit from the Sabres forward extremely dangerous and said he snapped because he feared a broken leg. “I thought that was extremely dangerous; you’re talking about broken legs, broken ankles, knees, everything,” McAvoy said, according to Causeway Crowd.
The Night the Season Ended
The trouble started at the 18:29 mark of the third period. Boston was already down 4-1 to Buffalo when McAvoy reacted to the clip. He got a major penalty and a game misconduct, which ended his night early. The Sabres went on to win that game 4-1 and advanced to the second round, sending the Bruins into the offseason. McAvoy admitted the play could have caused serious injury to him. “I felt like that was a deliberate play that could have resulted in a serious injury for me, and that was why I kind of snapped”.
The league did not look kindly on the response. McAvoy received a six-game suspension for the beginning of the next season. He tried to fight the ruling but failed to get it reduced. “The reality of the situation is that you’re just at the mercy of whatever they decide,” McAvoy said.
A Broken Hand and Sleepless Nights
McAvoy dealt with a broken hand from Game 2 of the series while waiting for the verdict. He said he did not sleep for 10 days while the process dragged on. He spent that time writing things down and preparing his case for the hearing. “I didn’t sleep for 10 days,” McAvoy stated. He went to the NHL office to state his truth and explain why he reacted the way he did. “I respect the opportunity to have gone there and tried to state my case and try and speak my truth on it and maybe try and get them to understand why I maybe did what I did or felt how I felt”.
He knows he made a mistake in the heat of the moment. McAvoy admitted he lost his wits and has regrets about the slash. “I lost my wits to a certain degree, and I have regrets about that”. He said he would have fought Benson if his hand was not broken, but the injury changed the outcome. “If I didn’t have a broken hand, maybe I would have fought him, but I did”.
Learning the Hard Way
The suspension is a tough lesson for a player who leads by example. McAvoy knows he has to learn from this so it does not happen again for himself or the team. “And it’s something that I kind of have to learn from because it can’t happen for myself and the team”. He feels like the process is difficult and not really in the player’s favor.
Despite the frustration, he found some peace in the process. He said he got closure out of it even if the result did not change. “I got closure out of it”. The Bruins will need him back when he returns, but these six games will test the team’s depth. McAvoy will be suspended for the first six games of the season because of the baseball swing he took at Zach Benson in the waning moments of the series loss to Buffalo last season.
