It has been a season to forget for the Boston Bruins. One of the league’s best and most consistent teams for decades, the Bruins are fighting to stay out of last place in the Eastern Conference this season. One of the reasons for their fall from grace has been injuries, and they will not have top defenseman Charlie McAvoy back in the lineup until the 2025-26 season.
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Head coach Joe Sacco told the Bruins media that McAvoy would not play Thursday night against the Chicago Blackhawks or in any of the remaining two games against the Pittsburgh Penguins or the New Jersey Devils.
McAvoy has not played since the 4 Nations Face-Off when he played on the blue line for Team USA. He was injured in that international tournament, suffering a shoulder issue (AC joint) as well as an infection. McAvoy delivered a notable hit on Team Canada superstar Connor McDavid, and the Bruins have clearly missed his physical play.
He has been skating with the team in recent practice sessions, but he has not reached the point where the team wanted him to return to game competition. If the Bruins were fighting for a spot in the playoffs, it might be a different story. However, the team was mathematically eliminated from postseason competition during a 10-game losing streak.
McAvoy will be one of the Bruins’ anchors next season
McAvoy and fellow defenseman Hampus Lindholm are expected to return next season, and those two are Boston’s best defenseman. Lindholm has been out since the early part of the year after taking a shot off his knee. The return of McAvoy and Lindholm are likely to make the Bruins a much better defensive team.
In addition to McAvoy missing the rest of the regular-season games, forward Mark Kastelic’s season has also come to a conclusion. Kasterlic suffered and upper-body injury last month and he has not made enough progress to return to the lineup. The hard-hitting forward scored 5 goals and 9 assists for the Bruins in 61 games.
“Just not ready to play, that’s the bottom line right now,” Sacco said, per NHL.com. “The medical staff feels they’re not ready to play the last two games after tonight.”
McAvoy had 7 goals and 16 assists for 23 points in 50 games this season. While his physical play has always been impressive, the Bruins would like to see more offensive production from McAvoy in the future.
