The NHL Department of Player Safety has suspended Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy for six regular-season games for slashing Buffalo Sabres forward Zach Benson in Game 6 on May 1, the report says.
The suspension was announced Tuesday, one day after McAvoy had an in-person hearing at the league offices in New York City, and will be served at the start of the 2026-27 season, the report says. McAvoy and the NHL Players’ Association may appeal the ban to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and, if necessary because the suspension exceeds five games, to a neutral arbitrator, per the report.
The slashing penalty was called with 1:31 remaining in the game, with the Sabres leading 4-1 and holding a 3-2 series lead, the report says. As McAvoy skated back for an icing call, Benson tripped him with his left leg and McAvoy crashed into the end boards. McAvoy then skated through his teammates and delivered a two-handed slash across Benson’s torso, the report says. McAvoy received a five-minute major for slashing, which carries an automatic game misconduct; Benson was assessed a minor for tripping.
McAvoy has two prior suspensions in his career: a one-game suspension in 2019 for an illegal check to the head of Josh Anderson and a four-game suspension in 2023 for an illegal check to the head of Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and he has been fined once in his 573-game NHL career, the report says. The six-game ban is the longest in the NHL since Minnesota’s Ryan Hartman was suspended for 10 games in February 2025 for roughing, a suspension that was later reduced to eight games on appeal, per the report.
