Bruins’ Charlie McAvoy Still ‘Numb’ Following Playoff Elimination

No one expected the Bruins to be holding the annual exit interview day at Warrior Ice Arena on Tuesday. That day wasn’t supposed to take place until June.

But alas, the day came, and for most players having to talk about how they felt about the first-round playoff elimination was emotional, to say the least, especially for defenseman Charlie McAvoy.

“Numb still. It’s hard to really put it into words right now. It’s tough,” McAvoy said. “It’s tough. I mean, you have these days, right? You know, we try and break everything down here, but it’s so fresh it’s hard to kind of put it into words, like what went wrong or where we went wrong. It’s just the ultimate disappointment right now.”

The 25-year-old from Long Beach, N.Y., did not mince words regarding the expectations of the Bruins entering the postseason, especially given the historic season they had.

“I don’t know, we won a lot of games, and it really feels like it doesn’t matter, to be honest,” McAvoy said. “It’s always numb, right? Every year you don’t win, you’re a loser, but this one was different. We had a team that was really special and really good. Every year we’ve had good teams, but this year just feels like it.”

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Despite being on an emotional rollercoaster following the loss, McAvoy couldn’t help but look at the bright side.

“We had a blast. I mean, just an exceptional group of people and every day you get to do this job is a blessed day,” he said. “It’s fun, but it’s more fun when you’re winning, and we won a lot this year. Had a lot of good memories with a lot of these guys and the friendships are definitely the best part about this job, and the relationships we get to make. A lot of guys making new friends and we had a lot of fun this year.”

As an alternate captain, McAvoy attributed his growth as a leader to the leaders before him that donned the Spoked-B, especially Zdeno Chara, Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci and Brad Marchand.

“I’ve had great people every step of the way who lead so naturally … you know, you can go back, and there’s a ton of people who I’ve learned so much from,” McAvoy said. “I think you just have to be yourself and be genuine and I try to do that. … I guess that’s my style of leadership. It’s something I’ll keep getting better at.”