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NHL Notebook: Charlie McAvoy suspended six games, GM of the Year finalists named
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Photo credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images
Alicia LaBine
May 13, 2026, 11:00 EDTUpdated: May 13, 2026, 11:28 EDT
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The Boston Bruins will be without their best defenceman for the beginning of their 2026-27 season.
On Tuesday, the NHL Department of Player Safety (DPoS) announced that Charlie McAvoy received a six-game suspension for roughing Buffalo Sabres’ Zach Benson, that will carry over to the next regular season.
McAvoy received an in-person hearing with the NHL DPoS since the infraction resulted in a penalty of more than five games.
The altercation occurred at 18:29 in the third period of Game 6 between the Bruins and Sabres after Benson’s stick caught McAvoy’s skates, tripping the defenceman up. McAvoy’s retaliatory slash received a major penalty and a game misconduct on the play, and Benson was assessed a minor for tripping.
Boston lost the game 4-1, and their season came to an end.
This is the third suspension of the Bruins’ defenceman’s career. His other two suspensions came for illegal checks to the head in Nov. 2023 on Florida Panthers’ Oliver Ekman-Larsson and May 2019 on Columbus Blue Jackets’ Josh Anderson.
Ottawa Senators’ Ridly Greig was the other player to face suspension this playoffs, for roughing Carolina Hurricanes’ Sean Walker in Game 4 on April 25. Greig received two regular season games as discipline.

Jim Gregory finalists announced

The race for the 2026 Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award has come down to the top three.
The Minnesota Wild’s Bill Guerin, Colorado Avalanche’s Chris MacFarland, and Anaheim Ducks’ Pat Verbeek have been named finalists for the 2026 Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award.
All three general managers are receiving their first nominations in Tuesday’s announcement.
Guerin’s season was highlighted by the blockbuster trade that brought Quinn Hughes to Minnesota, boosting the Wild to finish third in the Western Conference with a 46-24-12 record. Hughes wasn’t the only addition to the team, as Guerin added plenty of depth to his lineup, acquiring Bobby Brink, Nick Foligno, and Jeff Petry.
On top of Guerin building a team that broke the 11-year second-round drought, he also built the Team USA roster that won gold at the Winter Olympics.
Guerin’s Wild are currently facing MacFarland’s Avalanche, and as of now the Avs hold a commanding 3-1 series lead.
After winning the Presidents’ Trophy, the Avalanche have found themselves as favourites to win the Stanley Cup. MacFarland’s additions included veterans like Brent Burns, Brock Nelson, and Nazem Kadri.
The last time an Avalanche GM won the award was when Joe Sakic’s team won the 2022 Stanley Cup.
Anaheim finished third in the Pacific Division this year, their first playoff berth since 2018. Verbeek was the head of the team that celebrated youth, and drafted superstars like Beckett Sennecke and Leo Carlsson. He acquired players like John Carlson, Mikael Granlund, and Chris Kreider as well to provide his young core with veteran mentors.
Verbeek could be the first Ducks general manager to win the award since Bob Murray in 2013-14.

Penguins break silence on Malkin situation

Evgeni Malkin’s future with the Pittsburgh Penguins is back in focus, after general manager Kyle Dubas announced contract discussions have commenced.
“We had a great exit interview with Evgeni directly, and great conversations with him and his agent J.P. Barry,” Dubas said Tuesday. “So we would love to have him back, and we continue to work with J.P. on it.”
The end of season media availabilities for the Penguins were headlined by Malkin’s future in Pittsburgh, where some of his teammates spoke candidly about the veteran.
“I can’t see him not being back,” Rickard Rakell said. “He’ll be back.
“I love Geno,” Bryan Rust added. “I don’t know life in the NHL without him.”
At the time, the forward expressed openness to leaving the organization if it came to that, causing speculation about his future in the Steel City.
Dubas’ comments on Tuesday revealed the club’s desire to maintain their core trio of Malkin, Sidney Crosby, and Kris Letang.
Malkin’s $6.1 million contract is set to expire on June 30. Daily Faceoff’s Kyle Morton says that the Russian superstar will likely require a pay cut if he matches the club’s aspirations to keep him in Pittsburgh.
He has played in 1,269 regular season games, as well as 183 playoff games, across his 20 seasons with the Penguins.
Along with his three Stanley Cups, Malkin has also received six personal awards with the Penguins, starting with the Calder Memorial Trophy in 2006.
Then in 2009, he won the Art Ross Trophy and the Conn Smythe Trophy, and in 2012, he took home the Hart Trophy, his second Art Ross Trophy, and the Ted Lindsay Trophy.

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