Boston Bruins Defenseman Charlie McAvoy Suspended For Six Games
Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy has learned his fate to start the 2026-27 campaign.
McAvoy is suspended for six regular-season games, without pay, for his slash on Buffalo Sabres forward Zach Benson in Game 6 of the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
“Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy has been suspended for six regular-season games, without pay, for slashing Buffalo Sabres forward Zach Benson during Game 6 of the teams’ First Round series in Boston on Friday, May 1, the National Hockey League’s Department of Player Safety announced today,” said NHL Public Relations in its official press release on the decision.
The incident came in the final two minutes of regulation in Game 6 on May 1 which Buffalo won 4-1 to advance into the second round of the playoffs and end Boston’s season.
The incident started when Benson tripped McAvoy which stopped play. After the whistle, McAvoy got up, skated to Benson on another part of the ice, and hit him with his stick. Benson received a two-minute minor for his trip while McAvoy got a five-minute major for his slash and a 10-minute game misconduct which ejected him from the game.
The day after the game, it was announced that McAvoy was offered an in-person hearing for the penalty and on May 4, the date and location were announced for the hearing.
Boston’s Charlie McAvoy will have an in-person hearing on Monday, May 11th at the NHL’s office in New York City for slashing Buffalo’s Zach Benson. https://t.co/N7torjg34h
— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) May 4, 2026
This will be McAvoy’s third career suspension. The 28-year-old was suspended for one game in 2019 after an illegal check to the head to former Columbus Blue Jackets forward Josh Andserson and four games in 2023 for an illegal check to the head to former Florida Panthers defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
In the series, McAvoy played in all six games and tallied two assists for two points as well as a -6 rating. In his career, he has 97 playoff games under his belt with six goals and 44 assists for 50 points.
The Bruins’ 2026-27 schedule will be announced at a later date, so the matchups that McAvoy will miss are still to be determined.
McAvoy has spent his entire career with the Bruins after being selected by the organization with the No. 14 overall pick (first round) in the 2016 NHL Draft.
He made his NHL debut in 2017. In total, he has played in 670 career games between the regular season and playoffs and has notched 77 goals and 334 assists for 411 points.
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Kim Rankin is one of the lead writers for Boston Bruins on SI and Boston College On SI. A 2020 graduate of the University of Alabama. she joined Alabama Crimson Tide On SI in February 2024 covering baseball, softball, football, men’s basketball, and more for BamaCentral, but has also contributed to Missouri Tigers On SI. She previously worked as the brand manager at Tide 100.9 FM in Tuscaloosa, Ala. She has covered a wide variety of events including SEC Championships, NCAA Regionals, and bowl games.