The Boston Bruins [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/boston-bruins]' season ended with their 4-1 loss to the Buffalo Sabres [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/buffalo-sabres] in Game 6 last Friday night. The season itself came as a success, with the Bruins initially tapped for the bottom-five in the league and looking at the Draft Lottery. Instead, they posted 100 points and had a strong regular season, only to fail to win a home playoff game (0-3 in TD Garden) en route to their defeat. Bruins star defenseman Charlie McAvoy [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/boston-bruins/latest-news/bruins-injury-updates-pastrnak-mcavoy-more-dealt-with-major-injuries] landed himself in serious trouble with NHL's Department of Player Safety due to his overhead two-handed slash on Zach Benson. The NHL's Department of Player Safety announced Saturday that McAvoy had been offered an in-person hearing [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/boston-bruins/latest-news/charlie-mcavoy-hit-with-bad-news-after-bruins-playoff-exit] for his slash on Sabres forward Benson during the third period of Game 6. Then, Monday afternoon, the Department of Player Safety revealed the hearing will take place in one week, on Monday, May 11. McAvoy appears to be facing a suspension of at least six games, as otherwise the league wouldn't have made the hearing in person. It's key to remember that the NHL expands to an 84-game regular season next year, so McAvoy's suspension could be very slightly affected by that, as the league implements fines and loss of pay for games suspended as part of the equation. McAvoy appeared in 69 regular-season games in 2025-26 with the Bruins, posting 11 goals, 50 assists, 61 points, 79 hits, and 129 blocks. He followed that up in the post-season, recording two assists and a minus-6 rating in six games while playing through a broken hand sustained in Game 2.
