The Boston Bruins were eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs by the Buffalo Sabres in the primary round. Within the sixth and final game, Bruins star defenseman Charlie McAvoy slashed Sabres forward Zach Benson and has now been served a suspension. McAvoy will miss the primary six games of the 2026-27 regular season on account of this play from Game 6.
🚨#NHLBruins D Charlie McAvoy has been suspended six (6) games for slashing #LetsGoBuffalo F Zach Benson. pic.twitter.com/nudziIlany
— NHL News (@PuckReportNHL) May 12, 2026
McAvoy was brought in for an in-person hearing with the NHL Department of Player Safety, which opens up the likelihood for an extended suspension. On Tuesday, the suspension was announced by DoPS.
Within the video released by the Department of Player Safety, the narrator says, “All parties agree that that is an intentional and forceful strike delivered to an opponent’s body specifically for the aim of retribution and message sending.” Additionally they indicated that McAvoy’s history, two suspensions and one nice, played into this decision.
McAvoy had a bounce-back season for the Bruins in 2025-26, scoring 61 points in 69 games. That was a dramatic improvement from a disappointing 23-point season in only 50 games the 12 months before. He was also a key a part of Team USA’s Gold Medal-winning squad on the Milan Olympics.
McAvoy will only be eligible for 78 of the 84 Bruins games next season. But that may require him to remain healthy, and he has not played 75 games for the reason that 2021-22 season, when he was just 24 years old. The Bruins are counting on their best defenseman staying healthy, and starting the season on the shelf for various reasons doesn’t help.
The Bruins played the complete 2025-26 season with out a captain after the trade of Brad Marchand to the Florida Panthers. McAvoy has been an alternate captain for years and could possibly be named the captain before next season. It will be odd to debut a brand new captain within the seventh game of the season, but that could possibly be the fact.
The Boston Bruins were eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs by the Buffalo Sabres in the primary round. Within the sixth and final game, Bruins star defenseman Charlie McAvoy slashed Sabres forward Zach Benson and has now been served a suspension. McAvoy will miss the primary six games of the 2026-27 regular season on account of this play from Game 6.