Bruins defenceman Charlie McAvoy expected to miss six months after undergoing shoulder surgery
The Boston Bruins will likely be without three regular members of their defensive group — including top-pairing stalwart Charlie McAvoy — to begin the 2022–23 regular season.
McAvoy will miss an estimated six months of action after undergoing an arthroscopic stabilization procedure on his left shoulder, the club announced Friday.
The 24-year-old defender set new career-high marks in goals (10), assists (46), points (56), games played (78), and average time on ice (24:39) with the Bruins in 2021–22. His eight-year, $9.5 million-AAV contract extension will take effect next season.
The Bruins will also be without defencemen Matt Grzelcyk and Mike Reilly for multiple months. Grzelcyk is expected to miss five months after undergoing a right shoulder open stabilization procedure; Reilly underwent right ankle surgery and will miss an estimated three months.
#NHLBruins issue updates on Matt Grzelcyk, Charlie McAvoy and Mike Reilly: https://t.co/75d2WYfWZ7
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) June 3, 2022This latest Bruins injury news comes in the wake of star forward Brad Marchand undergoing double hip surgery last week. Marchand is expected to miss six months while recovering.
The status of Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron is also unclear going into next season. The 36-year-old forward and perennial Selke Trophy candidate is a pending unrestricted free agent.
Grzelcyk, 28, scored a career-high 24 points (four goals, 20 assists) and averaged 18:44 in 73 games with the Bruins in 2021–22. Reilly, also 28, set a new career-high mark with four goals in 2021–22 and added 13 assists for 17 points in 70 appearances, logging an average of 18:57 per game.
Beyond McAvoy, Grzelcyk, and Reilly, the Bruins have only seven defenders in their entire organization signed to NHL deals for 2022–23: Hampus Lindholm, Brandon Carlo, Derek Forbort, Jakub Zboril, Connor Clifton, Michael Callahan, and Victor Berglund.
In addition, Jack Ahcan and Nick Wolff are both 25-year-old pending restricted free agents with arbitration rights. Ahcan and Wolf collectively have just nine games of NHL experience.