Zdeno Chara’s minutes may be declining, but his impact on the Bruins isn’t - The Boston Globe
There is no telling when the circle of Zdeno Chara’s NHL life will close, whether this bizarre playoff cycle through an unprecedented coronavirus bubble will serve as some sort of career sendoff for the longtime Bruins captain, or whether the 43-year-old will add yet another year onto his amazingly ageless abilities. He insists retirement is not near, but as the business of sports has shown us time and time again, that decision isn’t always up to the athlete.
But if there’s one thing the defenseman has shown across 14 years in Boston (and 22 years in the NHL), he’ll be standing tall while he figures it out.
His role on the ice may not be what it once was, reality reflected in diminishing minutes and declining responsibilities, and anyone paying attention across the start of this playoff run could see it was taking Chara a little longer than his teammates to catch up to the pace of play.
But value in sport comes in many ways, and Chara’s goes so far beyond the great work he still does in protecting a lead or killing a penalty. According to the voices that matter most — the ones who employ Chara and the ones who play alongside him — he is as big a piece of their championship puzzle as anyone on the roster. That was obvious Monday, when Zoom calls after practice opened a referendum on Chara’s role in the playoffs.
The man himself typically declined to engage in speculation about anything beyond the next game, against Tampa Bay Tuesday, saying, “I can’t really tell you if my role is going to change. I’m always going to do my best regardless of where I’m put.”
“It’s something I absolutely have not taken for granted,” Charlie McAvoy said during that same call, speaking about the man who wasn’t just his partner at the interview table, but is also his defensive partner on the ice, and his mentor, friend, and teammate.
“I consider myself extremely lucky to be able to learn under this guy. He’s as good as anyone in the entire league to learn under. I’ve learned so many lessons on the ice, off the ice.”
Chara, glancing sideways, mouthed a “thank you,” to which McAvoy, grinning, blew a kiss in response.
Well, that and Zdeno Chara. Always there, always ready, unstoppable even by a fractured jaw like the one he sustained in last year’s Stanley Cup Final. To write his name into the lineup every night has been … what? A privilege? A luxury?
