HENDERSON, Nevada — Blessed with a clean bill of health and the perspective that comes from surviving a life-threatening infection, Charlie McAvoy is brimming with gratitude as he enters the 2025-26 season.
“I just can’t thank (the doctors) enough,” the Boston Bruins defenceman told Elliotte Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas Tuesday during a recording of the 32 Thoughts podcast.
McAvoy suffered an injury to his right shoulder’s acromioclavicular (AC) joint while representing Team USA at February’s 4 Nations Face-Off. His shoulder developed a dangerous staph infection that forced him into surgery.
The doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital needed to act fast, McAvoy explained, because the infection began tracking down from his shoulder toward his heart.
“So now you’re getting really worried,” McAvoy said.
Thankfully, the spread was stopped in time — and the 4 Nations tournament had shifted to Boston, where Bruins physicians could assist.
To top it off, McAvoy and wife Kiley had just welcomed their first child, Rhys, a couple weeks before the 4 Nations.
“It was just a tough time. I had a newborn at home,” McAvoy said. “It was just a lot to deal with. Our support system was so great.”
McAvoy revealed that he might have been able to suit up toward the end of the regular season, but with the Bruins missing the playoffs for the first time in his career, there was no sense risking a setback.
Watching core players traded at the deadline and seeing his remaining teammates out there “putting bodies on the line” made him antsy. He felt helpless. From the couch, all the 27-year-old could do was watch Boston’s eight-year post-season streak come to a crashing halt.
“It was extremely frustrating,” McAvoy said.
The positive here is that McAvoy feels refreshed and energized heading into an Olympic year, bolstered by his longest off-season of training yet.
His shoulder is perfectly fine — but there is a chip on it.
“We got everything to prove. This the first time in my career that we’re going into this year probably not being a playoff team by a lot of people’s metrics. We’re a playoff team every day of the week, in my mind,” McAvoy said.
“We have everything we need. We have more than enough on this roster to be that. So that’s the goal.
“And our standards don’t deviate, regardless of what people think we may or may not be. We went out and got guys (Viktor Arvidsson, Tanner Jeannot, Sean Kuraly among them) that are going to make us a tough team to play against. So, I think we’re going to buy into that as best we can, and we’re going to be a tough out.”
Just like McAvoy himself.
32 Thoughts: The Podcast
Hockey fans already know the name, but this is not the blog. From Sportsnet, 32 Thoughts: The Podcast with NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas is a weekly deep dive into the biggest news and interviews from the hockey world.
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