To the shock of no one, the Bruins are ‘extremely unhappy’ about handling of Charlie McAvoy injury
The Boston Bruins have issued not one, but two medical updates on defenseman Charlie McAvoy. But why?
Beyond the obvious reasons — well, he’s injured — the Bruins gave their unusually detailed statements in large part because they’re reportedly upset with how Team USA has handled McAvoy’s injury situation during the 4 Nations Face-Off. That was certainly easy to deduce by the statements themselves, but top NHL insider Elliotte Friedman appears to have confirmed the Bruins’ feelings on the matter, as part of a new interview on Sportsnet 590 The FAN.
“I think the people who are really angry is the team, the Bruins,” Friedman said. “If you read their statement, they make it very clear that they are unhappy with how this all went down, that they don’t feel their player was given the proper treatment.”
Friedman went on to detail McAvoy’s initial injury, which originally happened in Team USA’s first game of the 4 Nations Face-Off against Finland. McAvoy took a shove from behind by Finland’s Joel Armia (still a Montreal Canadien, by the way) and lost his balance, as he tumbled shoulder-first right into the post.
McAvoy went on to play in the Americans’ next game against Team Canada, in which he delivered multiple crushing hits as Team USA’s fierce physical presence. Ostensibly, that aggravated his injury — it certainly couldn’t have helped. McAvoy later had to be admitted to Mass. General Hospital on Monday.
The Bruins explained in their statements that McAvoy had suffered a “significant” injury to his AC joint, and also had an infection that had to be treated and removed. The ailments ultimately knocked McAvoy out of the 4 Nations for good.
The Bruins’ own medical staff administered McAvoy’s treatment in Boston. They apparently believe they had to treat problems that were avoidable and the result of mishandling by Team USA doctors, which seems to be at the core of their anger.
Friedman had an explanation for what some had wondered: why are the Bruins, whose GM is running Team Canada, releasing these statements on the health of a Team USA player?
“It became pretty clear it’s because the Bruins were extremely unhappy with the way this had been handled, and they felt in this particular case, McAvoy didn’t get the proper care,” Friedman said. “We’ll see how this plays out over time, and we’ll see if anybody disputes this, but it seems to me right now that Boston’s very upset at the care that McAvoy got under Team USA.”
As Friedman noted, Team USA’s physician is Dr. Joel Boyd, who is the team orthopedic surgeon for the Minnesota Wild. Boyd is an experienced team doctor, going back to the Olympics and IIHF Men’s World Championship in 1998, and has been the Wild’s team physician since 2000.
Boyd’s experience isn’t the issue. It’s that the Bruins have their own doctors, and another team’s medical staff just bungled the treatment of their player. According to 98.5 The Sports Hub’s own Ty Anderson, the B’s were also upset with the medical reports they got from the Wild before trading for Pat Maroon last season. Friedman believes this McAvoy fiasco will lead to independent medical staffs in future 4 Nations tournaments. Frankly, the Bruins have a right to be upset.
The show must go on, of course. Team USA will take on Team Canada in the 4 Nations Face-Off championship game on Thursday night at TD Garden. The Bruins’ Brad Marchand is expected to suit up for Team Canada, while goaltender Jeremy Swayman would be a longshot to play for the U.S.
Matt Dolloff is a writer and digital content producer for 98.5 The Sports Hub. Read all of his articles here.
NEXT: Canada relishing second chance vs. USA in 4 Nations Face-Off
