McAvoy will get six video games for stick-swinging incident

The NHL introduced on Tuesday night that Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy can be suspended for the primary six video games of subsequent season, the results of a slash on Buffalo’s Zach Benson in Game 6 of the Bruins-Sabres sequence.

McAvoy was given a serious and a sport misconduct on the play in actual time, with that play occurring with lower than 90 seconds left within the Bruins’ season-ending loss.

(I didn’t know the league nonetheless made these “look, here’s how we reached this conclusion” explainer movies, however they’re as bizarre as they’ve ever been.)

Regardless of the colours you help, there’s actually no manner you may argue that McAvoy didn’t deserve some type of supplemental self-discipline, as you merely can’t swing your stick at an opponent like that.

Sure, Benson deserved one thing for slew footing McAvoy previous to the incident, however you may’t retaliate by chopping down along with your stick.

The sticking level from a Bruins perspective can be that the size of the suspension appears fully arbitrary, consistent with NHL custom.

Consider, for instance, this play by Alex Pietrangelo:

That play got here with an equivalent scoreline and just about the identical period of time left on the clock, and Pietrangelo was suspended for one playoff sport.

I assume you could possibly argue that on the NHL Currency Exchange, one playoff sport = six common season video games, however who is aware of?

It’s a idiot’s errand to attempt to get inside George Parros & Co’s collective mind and perceive how they arrive at no matter conclusion, and it additionally feels a little bit foolish to complain in regards to the size of the suspension when it’s apparent McAvoy wanted to get one thing.

Regardless, McAvoy will now miss round 7% of subsequent season for the B’s.

McAvoy had been suspended twice previous to this incident, each occasions for checks to the top (one towards Josh Anderson, then with the Blue Jackets, within the 2019 playoffs and one towards Oliver Ekman-Larsson, then with the Panthers, throughout the 2023-2024 common season).

There was already going to be loads of juice within the first Bruins-Sabres match-up of subsequent season, so this may solely add gasoline to the hearth.

If nothing else, not less than this information ties up the final remaining free finish from this previous season for the Bruins.

Plus, now McAvoy has some further time to get all of his dental work achieved. There’s at all times a brilliant facet, proper?