Overview
- McAvoy delivered a two-handed slash to Buffalo winger Zach Benson in the closing seconds of Game 6 on May 1 after Benson slew-footed him, drawing a five-minute major and a game misconduct.
- The NHL’s Department of Player Safety suspended McAvoy for six games to start the next season and an in-person appeal failed to overturn that ban, so the suspension stands.
- Speaking at a captains practice Thursday, McAvoy apologized, said he 'snapped,' defended his reaction as a response to a dangerous slew-foot, and said the appeal process gave him closure.
- McAvoy’s broken hand and required dental work forced an approximately 10-day wait before his appeal could be heard, a delay he said was mentally taxing and complicated his offseason recovery.
- The suspension will sideline Boston’s top-minute defenseman for the season’s opening games, forcing short-term defensive lineup changes and could affect the team’s pending choice of captain between McAvoy and David Pastrnak.