Elliotte Friedman claims Boston Bruins were "extremely unhappy" with Team USA's handling of Charlie McAvoy's injury

The Boston Bruins were quite unhappy with the way Team USA handled star defenseman Charlie McAvoy’s injury at the 4 Nations Face-Off, as per insider Elliotte Friedman.

On the Kyper and Bourne Show, Friedman explained that McAvoy had apparently sustained an injury during Team USA’s opening matchup against Team Finland last Thursday. He played through the injury on Saturday night against Team Canada, compounding the situation.

Friedman said:

“The Bruins were extremely unhappy with the way this was handled, and they felt McAvoy didn’t get the proper care.”

Specifically, Friedman pointed toward the way Team USA’s doctors reportedly gave McAvoy a shot, which subsequently got infected. The situation spiraled out of control, necessitating Charlie McAvoy’s admission into a local Boston-area hospital.

Friedman added:

“We’ll see how this plays out over time, and we’ll see if anyone disputes this, but it seems to me right now Boston is very upset at the care McAvoy got under Team USA.”

He concluded his thoughts by underscoring the potential cause for the issue:

“I do think one of the things that’s going on here, is that Team USA’s doctors I think are Minnesota’s doctors and I do think what the teams, the NHL teams have kind of indicated, I don't know if to the league or anything like that, but privately, it’s from now on, they want someone independent there.”

As things stand, there's no clear timetable for McAvoy’s return. One thing is clear, though: McAvoy won't be in Team USA’s lineup for the 4 Nations Face-Off final against Canada on Thursday night at TD Garden in Boston.

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Charlie McAvoy not expected to play for Boston Bruins in the short term

Boston Bruins coach Joe Sacco spoke to the media following Wednesday’s practice. During the availability, Sacco addressed McAvoy’s situation, indicating that the team doesn't expect McAvoy to play in the short term.

Sacco said (per NHL.com):

“As far as we’re concerned, first and foremost we’re concerned with Charlie’s health. We just want to wish him the best moving forward here in his recovery. That’s the main concern for us right now.”

Sacco has confirmed that Charlie McAvoy won't be in the Boston Bruins' lineup on Saturday night:

“We’re planning that we have a game without him on Saturday. We’ve got to do our best to get our guys that are here ready for that game coming up on Saturday which we did today.

Sacco provided an update on McAvoy’s condition, despite not providing a clear timetable for the blue liner’s return:

“He seems to be doing better which is a good sign, but we just want to see him recover from what happened first and then we’ll go from there.”

The Boston Bruins hit the ice on Saturday night when they host the Anaheim Ducks at TD Garden. The Bruins hope to turn things around following the 4 Nations break, but doing so will be more challenging without Charlie McAvoy in the lineup.