News Article: Chara charts course for a healthy return

[Number8]

Some of the anti Chara comments here boggle the mind........

Is he aging? Yes. Last time I checked, that's a requisite of being a living being.

Did he have a bad year for him last year? Yes.

Is he one of the best Defenders this team has ever had? Yes.

Was he instrumental in winning us a Cup? Yes.

Is he lazy or lacking motivation? No. Perhaps one of the hardest working and most dedicated players to wear the black and gold.

Am I happy he sounds motivated and dedicated to showing the naysayers wrong? Yes I sure as hell am.

Is he worth $4M cap hit? That's not even worth addressing.

If he's slowing down and on the downside of his career, so be it. He's still done nothing to deserve some of the garbage (thankfully the minority of these posts) posted here. Those of you who want to rag on him should find another sport and team to root for. You're an embarrassment.

 

[Ladyfan]

I hope Big Z has a great year. He has had the time to heal.

I hope next Summer is shorter for the B's and they play into June.

 

[Caper Bruins fan]

If the right players make the right steps then

Chara Krug
hamilton Morrow
Seidenberg McQuaid

Could be a decent defensive squad

Get Chara off the PP and tell the youngins, including Lucic, Marchand, Bergeron, Krejci to step it up

I would like to see them bring in someone new. I like both Krug and Morrow but it is a stretch to think they can hold their own in the top 4 next year.

 

[JOKER 192]

If the right players make the right steps then

Chara Krug
hamilton Morrow
Seidenberg McQuaid

Could be a decent defensive squad

Get Chara off the PP and tell the youngins, including Lucic, Marchand, Bergeron, Krejci to step it up

It probably would be but you got about 7M on the 3rd pairing. That is a very expensive 3rd and a luxury we just can't afford.

 

[KnightofBoston]

It probably would be but you got about 7M on the 3rd pairing. That is a very expensive 3rd and a luxury we just can't afford.

Can't look at caps, only players we'll have (or be stuck with) and where they will be most effective

 

[talkinaway]

To Julien's credit, I peeked at Chara's minutes, and they were sort of on track this year. He started off light for the first four games, and then got bumped up to the high 24s, presumably because we were 1-3-0 in those games. He came back in the 24-25 range after injury for the first few games, which was a bit ridiculous, and then settled down into the 22-23 range. Then, the emergency button was pressed and he's back in 25+ land for the last 4 weeks of the season. Granted, this analysis is faulty, mainly because I'm too lazy to see how many minutes the games actually were - I'm very understanding of a 26 minute Chara game when the game is 65 minutes long.

If we can get defensemen who are trustworthy enough to keep Chara in the 23 minute range for regulation, I'll be happy. Whether that comes with kicking the butts of those who are already playing, from Providence, or from drafting, I don't know. But I don't want another charred Chara next season.

I think he's a great defenseman when he's used properly. His fitness level is second to none, and his dedication and leadership are beyond reproach. But we can't make a reasonable last gasp cup run on solely Rask and Chara's backs, defensively speaking.

 

[DitClapper]

Take that haters. He is still a #1. And more worth his salary than some would care to admit!

And Smith really needs to go. Breaking Chara foot as well.

Boy am I looking forward to next season. I'm pretty confident Chara's going to make a serious comeback next season.

Agree wholeheartedly with your second statement as well.

 

[rudos1]

Well what did anyone expect him to say, "Yeah I'm old and injured and doubt that I will ever be the same player I once was." I like his attitude but I don't like his chances of being the dominant number one d-man he once was.

 

[TheReal13Linseman]

Take that haters. He is still a #1. And more worth his salary than some would care to admit!

And Smith really needs to go. Breaking Chara foot as well.

What's he been "worth" to the club since the Cup run?

Not much. He's always had a #1 attitude and mindset, the problem is his age, injuries and coach mismanagement.

Not really expecting much of a bounce back for him this year. His spirit is willing, but I just don't think the Bruins can go far with a 39 year old Chara leading the way on D.

I guess we'll just have to wait and see since he's not really tradeable at this point.

 

[JOKER 192]

What's he been "worth" to the club since the Cup run?

Not much. He's always had a #1 attitude and mindset, the problem is his age, injuries and coach mismanagement.

Not really expecting much of a bounce back for him this year. His spirit is willing, but I just don't think the Bruins can go far with a 39 year old Chara leading the way on D.

I guess we'll just have to wait and see since he's not really tradeable at this point.

It's odd to read posts suggesting a 7M$ player should have his minutes managed better. A 7M$ player should be able to handle whatever you give him, otherwise he's not a 7M$ player.

Sadly I think your right, he's likely to bounce back like a half deflated basketball.

It's odd to read posts suggesting a 7M$ player should have his minutes managed better. A 7M$ player should be able to handle what ever you give him, otherwise he's not a 7M$ player.

 

[Fire Sweeney]

When he is a norris trophy finalist in 2014?

Sometimes a few posters here should be judged on their performance maybe but im sure theyd get much lower grades than chara

Oh this argument again. Subban and Karlsson won it recently while being pylons in their own end. Jockey writers who vote the award winners are hacks who don't know **** about hockey.

 

[doubleminor138]

Chara is still the guy I want as captain. A leg injury is bad for anybody and will very much slow down a defenseman. I think Chara's general fitness should overcome the fact that he's 38, but that IS a gamble.

I am betting both Chara and Seids look much better in 2015, but I never believed those guys were the problem.

 

[ThorntonFightClub*]

I'm going to bookmark this thread for a good laugh next May.

Anyone betting against someone with the fitness and mindset of Chara is painfully dumb.

And people not shooting up hgh take a year to fully recover from acl + mcl surgery. Count on the real Seidenberg next year too

 

[BMC]

Oh this argument again. Subban and Karlsson won it recently while being pylons in their own end. Jockey writers who vote the award winners are hacks who don't know **** about hockey.

I have to agree. It has become an award for the best offensive defenseman, not the best defenseman.

 

[BMC]

I'm going to bookmark this thread for a good laugh next May.

Anyone betting against someone with the fitness and mindset of Chara is painfully dumb.

And people not shooting up hgh take a year to fully recover from acl + mcl surgery. Count on the real Seidenberg next year too

Yes! Both will have something to prove and my money is on them to prove it.

 

[njbruin*]

Yes! Both will have something to prove and my money is on them to prove it.

I hope for all of sakes your right, having said that, Bruins mgmt would be foolish to take that approach, if neither or both fail to return to form we have a repeat of the horror show on D from last year.

 

[jgatie]

I have to agree. It has become an award for the best offensive defenseman, not the best defenseman.

IMHO, this trend makes the fact that Chara was a finalist in 2014 more relevant, because he's not an all offensive defenseman. Yet the post you are replying to says the nomination means nothing.

 

[njbruin*]

IMHO, this trend makes the fact that Chara was a finalist in 2014 more relevant, because he's not an all offensive defenseman. Yet the post you are replying to says the nomination means nothing.

But that's also when he was playing net front on the PP , something I highly doubt we'll see going forward.

 

[Alberta_OReilly_Fan]

Oh this argument again. Subban and Karlsson won it recently while being pylons in their own end. Jockey writers who vote the award winners are hacks who don't know **** about hockey.

these dmen you mention are the ones that coaches are playing 25-30 mins per night... the ones that gms are paying 7 mill a year too... the ones that analysts are calling the best dmen in the nhl... and the ones writers are giving the Norris too for best dmen in the nhl?

yeah... I guess you probably know a hell of a lot more about these pylons. sorry I was confused there

 

[Alberta_OReilly_Fan]

I have to agree. It has become an award for the best offensive defenseman, not the best defenseman.

there should be an award for best defensive dman too... but that said, chara is the one guy in the entire nhl that coaches have consistently needed to gameplan for DEFENSIVELY. If the award was being given to best defensive dman than chara would have had 5-10 awards in his career.

chara obviously had some issues this past season... but he also obviously was hurt and played hurt. he wasn't a finalist in the Norris trophy voting in 2014 because of his offense. he got voted despite his offense. He got voted ahead of karlsson because of his defense.

guys like doughty and weber and keith win the award because they can combind effective defensive play with superior offensive skill.

karlsson did win a single award... I disagree with it but ill chalk it up to his having an overwhelming offensive season. subban gets a bump because he is a personality and voters see him in the news all the time.

its not right but you cant say that no quality dmen end up at the top of the voting... usually if you look at the top 10 voting all 10 of those guys would make most peoples list of legitimate number 1 dmen. its rare that anyone in the top 10 isn't a 25 min per night 3 zone guy who does pp and pk and is on the ice for the last min of his teams games

fans might be bias against a particular dman but coaches have their jobs on the line and go with these guys... gms have their jobs on the line and go with these guys...

the smartest hockey people in the world are going with these guys

maybe fans should realize that we don't know everything and sometimes we are wrong when we are bias against a guy that is winning awards and finishing at the top of the voting for those rewards year after year after year

 

[Alberta_OReilly_Fan]

But that's also when he was playing net front on the PP , something I highly doubt we'll see going forward.

are you pro or con... your post here seems to be making the case against your argument...

yes chara's numbers got a boost from playing forward and so his numbers weren't from being a dman. voters didn't give him the Norris credit because he scored points as a dman. they voted him because he was a monster defensively

when chara and Bergeron were on the ice 5-on-5 we were invisible... we couldn't be scored on. our team had the best defensive record in the league with chara healthy and leading the way. this is why chara was voted as a finalist to the Norris

he lost because he doesn't score as much as weber and subban and those guys do but he was voted because he was better than all of them defensively

as far as being used in front of the net goes... yes that did happen. we had the luxury of having Hamilton/krug to man the points. when we didn't have Hamilton/krug, chara showed he can man the point on the pp. its not his best strength but he is above average at it

what really makes chara a force is when he shuts down top offensive players on other teams... and when hes killing pp.... that's where his legend is being established... that's why hes headed to the hof

when injured last year he didn't do that as well... lets hope hes healthier next year because last year's injury cost us the playoffs

 

[Lucic and Chong]

What's he been "worth" to the club since the Cup run?

Not much. He's always had a #1 attitude and mindset, the problem is his age, injuries and coach mismanagement.

Not really expecting much of a bounce back for him this year. His spirit is willing, but I just don't think the Bruins can go far with a 39 year old Chara leading the way on D.

I guess we'll just have to wait and see since he's not really tradeable at this point.

About $7M a year? This sentence and your rhetorical answer are disingenuous. Not much?

If you want to be pessimistic about Chara's future I've got no issue with that, but stretching it back into the past because you are pessimistic now does contradict the facts. There are numerous objective facts over the span from the Cup until last year that will prove Chara has been one of the better defensemen in the league over that span of years. Certainly Top 10 over the whole stretch, probably higher.

Please provide your some facts to back up your opinion that Chara has been worth "not much" since 2011.

 

[CharasLazyWrister]

The fact that the whole Chara thing has become so personal is painful to read about on these boards.

We're not even evaluating what we've seen, the realities, the probabilities at this point. Now, it's being turned into whether or not you're a "believer" or not in Chara's conditioning, his commitment, and drive.

The vast majority of NHL players are very, very driven. Maybe not many are at the level of Zdeno Chara, but there does come a time. Zdeno Chara has a ton to prove to me before I accept him as being "back" in any sort of way, and I'm not sure why (other than some insane personal attachment and emotion toward the guy) he doesn't have to show that to everyone.

It's nothing personal. The fact that a 6'9" man is still able to retain a roster spot in this league is a pretty crazy fact on its own. But, when you have all these issues of needing "team speed", a better "transition game" amongst other things, issues that nearly everyone on this board seems to acknowledge, why am I supposed to ignore what I've seen out of our "number one D-man" over the past couple years? Why am I supposed to not face the reality of a player getting older in professional sports? Because of "loyalty" I am supposed to have as a fan? Please. I want a good hockey team.

Prove me wrong Z. Until then, all options are open.

 

[BMC]

IMHO, this trend makes the fact that Chara was a finalist in 2014 more relevant, because he's not an all offensive defenseman. Yet the post you are replying to says the nomination means nothing.

IMO it doesn't mean what it used to mean.

However IMO Chara is still one of the outstanding defensemen in the NHL.

 

[BMC]

there should be an award for best defensive dman too... but that said, chara is the one guy in the entire nhl that coaches have consistently needed to gameplan for DEFENSIVELY. If the award was being given to best defensive dman than chara would have had 5-10 awards in his career.

chara obviously had some issues this past season... but he also obviously was hurt and played hurt. he wasn't a finalist in the Norris trophy voting in 2014 because of his offense. he got voted despite his offense. He got voted ahead of karlsson because of his defense.

guys like doughty and weber and keith win the award because they can combind effective defensive play with superior offensive skill.

karlsson did win a single award... I disagree with it but ill chalk it up to his having an overwhelming offensive season. subban gets a bump because he is a personality and voters see him in the news all the time.

its not right but you cant say that no quality dmen end up at the top of the voting... usually if you look at the top 10 voting all 10 of those guys would make most peoples list of legitimate number 1 dmen. its rare that anyone in the top 10 isn't a 25 min per night 3 zone guy who does pp and pk and is on the ice for the last min of his teams games

fans might be bias against a particular dman but coaches have their jobs on the line and go with these guys... gms have their jobs on the line and go with these guys...

the smartest hockey people in the world are going with these guys

maybe fans should realize that we don't know everything and sometimes we are wrong when we are bias against a guy that is winning awards and finishing at the top of the voting for those rewards year after year after year

Great post Alberta_O'Reilly_Fan. Good to see you posting again too.