When Charlie McAvoy took a flying elbow to the face from Florida Panthers forward Sandis Vilmanis on Wednesday night in the first period of the Boston Bruins 5-4 shootout loss to the Panthers, it was a call that was mismanaged on the ice.
First off, the referees gave Vilmanis a two-minute minor for a hit to the head. Second, that power play was washed out when McAvoy's defensive partner, Jonathan Aspirot, went after Vilmanis. Finally, head coach Marco Sturm received a bench minor for unsportsmanlike conduct for defending his player and pointing out that the officials missed calling a major. Yes, that's right, Boston ended up shorthanded. Go figure.
To compound matters, the following day, the NHL Department of Player Safety was quiet, and there ended up being no disciplinary action taken against Vilmanis and Florida. That sent X into a firestorm, but it was a clear swing and miss by a department that doesn't do what its title says it does. There is no player safety in the NHL. It's a free-for-all. All of that led McAvoy to stick up for himself.
Bruins Charlie McAvoy takes subtle shot at the NHL with social media post
So, if the NHL wasn't going to do anything about the hit, McAvoy did. On Friday night, he posted a video of the hit and a picture of his face showing the aftereffects of the hit on his X account. There were no words, and there didn't need to be.
— Charlie McAvoy (@CMcAvoy44) February 7, 2026
As you can see, the left side of his face is swollen from the hit still, almost three days later. Good for McAvoy for calling out the league and player safety, and it was met with full support from across the league, even from Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs fans. Go figure. After the game, Sturm wasn't happy with the overall result.
“It was a brutal hit,” Sturm said. “And everyone saw it. Obviously, I have the opportunity to look at the replay, too, and to come out with a four-on-four like that. I just didn’t understand it. That’s all. I’m here to protect my guys, especially Charlie, and if you target his head, which was clear to see, that just pisses me off.”
Good for McAvoy on calling out player safety. More players should do it. This is a huge whiff from the league, and if the Canadiens and Maple Leafs are defending the Bruins, along with everyone else, well, then you know it was a whiff.