By: Ryan Jainchill | Follow me on Twitter / X @Jainchill_Ryan
Head Coach Joe Sacco announced today that defenseman Charlie McAvoy and forward Mark Kastelic will not play in the Bruins’ final three games due to injuries. In a post on X by Conor Ryan, he quoted Sacco as saying that the two have made progress recovering from their injuries but will not be cleared by the training staff in time.
McAvoy’s injury has caused uproar in the Bruins’ organization and league-wide. The 27-year-old defenseman suffered a shoulder injury in the 4 Nations Face-Off when the United States defeated Finland 6-1 on February 13th. Despite playing in the team’s next game, McAvoy’s injury worsened, leading to him developing an infection in his shoulder and being admitted to Massachusetts General Hospital. The Bruins’ assistant captain received treatment from the staff at Mass General before being released ahead of the U.S.’s final against Canada at TD Garden.
McAvoy’s absence from the Bruins was felt right away. The team struggled without McAvoy and defenseman Hampus Lindholm, having gone 5-14-3 since the Long Beach, New York native last appeared for the Bruins on February 8th. McAvoy has been skating, starting in a red no-contact sweater before progressing to a regular practice jersey. However, with Sacco’s quote today, the Bruins must wait until next season to see #73 return to the lineup.
Kastelic, who has battled injuries in the calendar year of 2025, suffered an upper-body injury in the Bruins’ 5-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on March 20th. Amid the team’s five-game road trip to the West Coast and Detroit, Sacco said ahead of the tilt with the Sharks on March 22nd that Kastelic would return to Boston and be done for the road trip. Like McAvoy, Kastelic has been skating but will be unavailable with three games left in the 2024-25 season for the Bruins.
In his first season in Boston since coming over in the Linus Ullmark trade over the summer, the 26-year-old has set career-highs in assists and points, finishing with a 5-9-14 line in 61 games. Kastelic started this season on fire, scoring 2-3-5 in the first four games. He signed a three-year extension with the team on January 4th, with General Manager Don Sweeney locking up the physical forward for a bottom-six role.
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