The Shocking and Gruesome Details of Charlie McAvoy's Four Nations Health Scare Release Publicly

McAvoy, 27, underwent the infection removal with a procedure and skated this spring in an effort to make a comeback. But one never materialized.

'Mentally, emotionally, physically, I've gone through so much because of that damn experience. It cost me my season. It cost me my sanity in a lot of ways,' McAvoy said Thursday, two days after the Bruins season concluded.

With Boston finishing near the bottom in the Eastern Conference, this is McAvoy's first playoff absence in his nine-year career.

'None of this has been easy and I get emotional when I talk about it,' he said. 'Look, it was an incredible experience, waited my whole life to be a part of something like that, but the way that it ended and the aftermath of it and what I had to to go through, it cost me a lot more than I was willing to give and that's unfortunate.

'But it's over now, and now I can finally put it to bed and after we talk about it. I don't want to talk about it ever again, because it cost me a lot.'

He had a season with seven goals and 16 assists in 50 games, career lows, and will likely fall out of the top 20 of Norris Trophy votes for the first time since 2019.

The Bruins signaled a rebuild on the trade deadline by trading captain Brad Marchand to Florida and sending long-time defenseman Brandon Carlo to Toronto. Although this season was lost, McAvoy says he's fully cleared for off-season training.