It's official, Charlie McAvoy's season is over.
The injured Boston Bruins defenseman has been ruled out of the team's remaining four games and will pack it up for the 2024-25 season. Head coach Joe Sacco also announced that forward Mark Kastelic's season is also over due to injury.
McAvoy ends a frustrating campaign with seven goals and 23 points in 50 games, the lowest point total of his entire NHL career. The 27 year old blue liner struggled through injuries this season both for the Bruins and during his time with Team USA at the 4 Nations Face-Off.
When he returns to action next season, McAvoy will be helping to lead a Bruins team that's in a bit of transition. Gone are long-time Bruins Brad Marchand, Charlie Coyle, Brandon Coyle and Trent Frederic due to some offloading trades by GM Don Sweeney this past season.
McAvoy anchors a defensive corps that features Hampus Lindholm, Nikita Zadorov and Andrew Peeke moving forward... with no other defenders inked for next season. If the Bruins are serious about taking another crack at the post-season, Sweeney will need to address his team's depth on defence this upcoming offseason. Ditto for the forward corps, to be honest.
If no changes are made then the Bruins will be relying on McAvoy, forward David Pastrnak and goaltender Jeremy Swayman to do a LOOOOOOT of heavy lifting next season.
