Emotional Charlie McAvoy Opens Up About Toll Of 4 Nations Injury

Charlie McAvoy experienced a roller coaster of emotions over the last few months.

Back in February, McAvoy received the thrill of a lifetime by representing the United States in the 4 Nations Face-Off. But those feelings of excitement and pride quickly vanished as the star defenseman sustained a serious shoulder injury in round-robin play of the tournament.

That memorable bout with Canada proved to be the last game of any kind McAvoy played this season. The 27-year-old wasn’t able to rejoin the Boston Bruins, who fell out of the Stanley Cup playoff picture after the in-season break. The B’s proceeded to have a fire sale at the NHL trade deadline and ultimately finished with the NHL’s fifth-fewest points.

Thursday provided McAvoy with his first opportunity to truly open up about the situation, and the star defenseman did not hold back.

“Mentally, emotionally, physically, I’ve gone through so much because of that damn experience,” McAvoy told reporters, per a team-provided video. “Like, it cost me my season. It cost me my sanity in a lot of ways. None of this has been easy and I get emotional when I talk about it. Look, yeah, it was an incredible experience. I waited my whole life to be a part of something like that. But the way that it ended and the aftermath of it and what I had to go through, it cost me a lot more than what I was willing to give. That’s unfortunate, but it’s over now. Now, I can finally put it to bed after we talk about it. I don’t want to talk about it ever again, honestly, because it cost me a lot.”

McAvoy continued: “I feel a lot about every emotion you can have. I’m not angry at any one individual. I’m angry at what happened. I’m sad about what happened — a little bit of the, ‘Why me?’ It’s a lot of different emotions. I wouldn’t say it’s just angry. It cost me my season. It cost me my season, it cost me a lot. I spent a lot of time emotionally just sitting with it. That was the reality of it. I’m sitting at home with a pick line and I can’t play and I can’t help my team. It felt like it was a whole other season. I don’t even remember anything before that, honestly. I only remember what the last two months have felt like and it hasn’t been face.”

While McAvoy clearly has some lingering feelings about the injury situation, he’s excited about the future for both himself and his team. The blueliner is eager to embrace the challenge of being a foremost leader on a Bruins team that will enter a new era next season.