The Boston Bruins will be severely shorthanded to start the 2022-23 NHL season.
Last week, the Bruins announced top scorer Brad Marchand underwent surgery on both of his hips. The recovery time is expected to be six months, which would be early December.
On Friday, the team revealed that No. 1 defenseman Charlie McAvoy underwent a left shoulder arthroscopic stabilization procedure with a recovery time of about six months.
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So, two of Boston's three most important players could miss approximately two months of the upcoming season. The schedule for the 2022-23 campaign hasn't been announced yet, but it should start in mid-October.
If you thought that was the end of bad injury news for the B's, you're wrong.
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The Bruins also announced Friday that defenseman Mike Reilly and Matt Grzelcyk had surgeries. Grzelcyk had a right shoulder open stabilization procedure with an approximate recovery time of five months. Reilly underwent right ankle tendon repair and removal of bone fragments with an approximate recovery time of three months.
The Bruins don't know if Patrice Bergeron will return for next season, either. He has not yet announced his decision. The B's captain is eligible to be an unrestricted free agent this summer. Even if Bergeron comes back, the first few weeks of the 2022-23 season should very challenging for the Bruins with all of these injuries to important players.