Player Safety confirms Charlie McAvoy facing huge suspension.

The Boston Bruins will likely have to begin next season without their star defenseman in the lineup.

On Saturday, the National Hockey League's Department of Player Safety announced that Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy was facing a huge suspension. The disciplinary arm of the NHL has revealed that McAvoy will have an in-person hearing for a slash he delivered to Buffalo Sabres forward Zach Benson in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

This is a major announcement as Player Safety only offers players an in-person hearing when that player is facing a suspension of six games or more.

It was a rather egregious slash on the part of McAvoy who hunted down Benson and delivered a two-handed baseball style slash to the Sabres forward in retaliation. That being said a suspension of 6 games or more is truly massive and I suspect that the news will not be well received by fans in Boston, especially not after they were just eliminated at the hands of those very same Buffalo Sabres.

Does McAvoy deserve 6 games or more? Let me know your thoughts on this one in the comments.