Cavanagh made his National Hockey League debut with San Jose near the end of the 2007–08 season and recorded an assist on his first shift.

[citation needed] The following season, he scored his lone NHL goal March 28, 2009, a backhand shot past Phoenix Coyotes goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov.

Cavanagh made his 138th consecutive appearance in a Crimson jersey in Harvard's final game of the 2005 NCAA Tournament.

[2] Cavanagh was found dead in the Providence Place Mall parking garage on January 6, 2011.

The cause of death was identified as multiple traumatic injuries due to blunt force impact.