Zdeno Chara, Quietly Still a Top Pair D at age 42

[The Hockey Tonk Man]

He's always been slow, dunno why peeps are surprised he gets beat wide a lot. Still a great D man though

 

[BruinsBtn]

I haven't watched much of Chara at all this season but I will say this:

He got CONSTANTLY skated on last year in the playoffs by pretty much every Leafs forward. He was basically a turnstile for seven games. The only thing he was able to do to even remotely slow them down were blatant interference / holding / obstruction plays (some of which were called as penalties, most of which were ignored because he got the star treatment)

He is still great at clearing the crease and playing in a zone setup, but he looked abysmal in the open ice.

This is pure fantasyland stuff, literally never happened.

He was on the ice for two goals against at even strength against the Leafs in the series and was a +6, which led the series... despite the toughest possible matchups. He was also on the ice for zero powerplay goals against.

 

[BruinsBtn]

He's always been slow, dunno why peeps are surprised he gets beat wide a lot. Still a great D man though

He doesn't get beat wide, it's a myth. The guy manages the gap like a virtuoso.

 

[elMatador]

He doesn't get beat wide, it's a myth. The guy manages the gap like a virtuoso.

As much as I would like to agree even virtuoso fails sometimehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2ADzpckkq0

 

[I Hate Philadelphia]

I haven't watched much of Chara at all this season but I will say this:

He got CONSTANTLY skated on last year in the playoffs by pretty much every Leafs forward. He was basically a turnstile for seven games. The only thing he was able to do to even remotely slow them down were blatant interference / holding / obstruction plays (some of which were called as penalties, most of which were ignored because he got the star treatment)

He is still great at clearing the crease and playing in a zone setup, but he looked abysmal in the open ice.

Then the Leafs won the cup and you turned your Xbox off.

 

[BigBadBruins7708]

As much as I would like to agree even virtuoso fails sometime

To be fair he didn't say never. Hell, everyone gets beat from time to time (especially by McDavid).

His point was more so that the myth fans of 2 certain teams cling to about him being a pylon you can skate by is false

 

[TOGuy14]

Who am I supposed to believe

Bruins' Zdeno Chara unfazed by Maple Leafs knockdowns - Sportsnet.ca

In this series, Toronto’s Trevor Moore, Zach Hyman and Tyler Ennis — smaller, faster, younger packages — have all collided with Big Z and watched him tumble. (“Doesn’t matter,” Chara says. “That’s playoff hockey.”) His slower feet have cost him a pair of minor penalties

Maple Leafs' speed, elusiveness key to overwhelming Chara once again - Sportsnet.ca

The Chara-Charlie McAvoy pairing didn’t fare particularly well in their place — seeing Marner and his linemates control 62.5 per cent of attempts against them, while scoring a goal in the first period.
Chara, in particular, struggled with Toronto’s speed. He was beaten clean on a couple long stretch passes through the neutral zone and took Boston’s only minor penalty of the game when he held up a racing Nylander in the waning minutes.
"He couldn’t really do much," said Nylander. "It would have been maybe a breakaway. So he kind of had to."

https://thehockeywriters.com/maple-leafs-bruins-game-1-win/

You’ve probably read it numerous times since the horn went to mark the end of Game 1. Chara looked slower than usual.

Toronto Maple Leafs Biggest Advantage: Zedeno Chara

One big factor in this happening is the seeming decline of Zdeno Chara. Not only does he imbue the Bruins with a massive amount of their perceived physical superiority, but he was nothing short of awful last night.
At best, he resembled a very large pylon. (stats naturalstattrick.com).
At worst, he was roughed up by the psychically inferior Trevor Moore.
And you don’t really need a stats report to know how Chara played. He was looking his age, skating slowly, and constantly getting burned by the Leafs faster players.
And all this doesn’t take into effect how lucky Chara was that he wasn’t given three or four minor penalties. The guy is a dirty player at the best of times, but he was downright reckless with his stick Thursday, and only the absolutely embarrassing job by the refs to call the game according to the rules prevented the Leafs from further taking advantage of Chara with a bunch of power-plays.

Not saying that Chara isn't an effective piece still, and he is definitely going into the Hall but the only thing remotely saving him in the open ice is his 100foot long stick and refs turning the blind eye to his clutching and interference.

 

[Kamiccolo]

Like I've been saying, he is still the cog that keeps their defense running. McAvoy is crazy over rated and not great defensivly. Chara still does a ton of heavy lifting in his own zone and especially around the net.

 

[Kamiccolo]

Bruins' Zdeno Chara unfazed by Maple Leafs knockdowns - Sportsnet.ca



Maple Leafs' speed, elusiveness key to overwhelming Chara once again - Sportsnet.ca



https://thehockeywriters.com/maple-leafs-bruins-game-1-win/



Toronto Maple Leafs Biggest Advantage: Zedeno Chara



Not saying that Chara isn't an effective piece still, and he is definitely going into the Hall but the only thing remotely saving him in the open ice is his 100foot long stick and refs turning the blind eye to his clutching and interference.

My favorite thing is how it went to 2 game 7 series (and last year the Leafs led twice) but the narrative is that they got destroyed both times as if the Bruins easily brushed them aside.

 

[Lahey]

Anyone who says Chara would be the Leafs best D-man.. is just plain ignorant lmfao.

 

[ESH]

Bruins' Zdeno Chara unfazed by Maple Leafs knockdowns - Sportsnet.ca



Maple Leafs' speed, elusiveness key to overwhelming Chara once again - Sportsnet.ca



https://thehockeywriters.com/maple-leafs-bruins-game-1-win/



Toronto Maple Leafs Biggest Advantage: Zedeno Chara



Not saying that Chara isn't an effective piece still, and he is definitely going into the Hall but the only thing remotely saving him in the open ice is his 100foot long stick and refs turning the blind eye to his clutching and interference.

Wow it’s rare to ever see an actual good response like this on the main boards here. I respect that.

But really, like it was said upthread, Chara (atleast looking at stat lines) came out of that series looking pretty decent.

 

[BigBadBruins7708]

Anyone who says Chara would be the Leafs best D-man.. is just plain ignorant lmfao.

He has a better season to date than any defender wearing blue and white

 

[danpantz]

Another thread not about the leafs that someone has almost half the posts about the leafs.

 

[Sheppy]

Does Chara play for the Leafs? Am i missing something here?

Jesus Christ, these guys come in like the plague.

 

[TOGuy14]

Does Chara play for the Leafs? Am i missing something here?

Jesus Christ, these guys come in like the plague.

Another thread not about the leafs that someone has almost half the posts about the leafs.

>be on hockey forum

>someone makes post about current NHL player and their opinion of them

>other users reply with relevant discussion about player including observations from recent important games

>Boston fans: OMG WHY ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT THESE THINGS THAT ARE DAMAGING TO OUR PRAISE CIRCLE AND MENTIONING A TEAM WE DON'T LIKE

 

[Sheppy]

>be on hockey forum

>someone makes post about current NHL player and their opinion of them

>other users reply with relevant discussion about player including observations from recent important games

>Boston fans: OMG WHY ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT THESE THINGS THAT ARE DAMAGING TO OUR PRAISE CIRCLE AND MENTIONING A TEAM WE DON'T LIKE

Those "important games" consisted of the Bruins sending the Leafs packing. He can't be that bad.

 

[illpucks]

Still a good player but yeah, speed is his enemy. But that's not really a shock, speed has always burned Chara. Its when the opposition tries to cycle is where he makes his money. Which is the majority of the time.

When he was young he was slow so it's not like his age is the issue

 

[danpantz]

>be on hockey forum

>someone makes post about current NHL player and their opinion of them

>other users reply with relevant discussion about player including observations from recent important games

>Boston fans: OMG WHY ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT THESE THINGS THAT ARE DAMAGING TO OUR PRAISE CIRCLE AND MENTIONING A TEAM WE DON'T LIKE

bruins fan - “hey chara has been pretty good this season”

leafs fans - “well actually last year he was slow in game 1 against the leafs”

bruins fans - “he was on the ice for 2 goals against that entire series”

leafs fan - “because the refs”

 

[TheGoldenJet]

The Zdeno that Rides

 

[nbwingsfan]

As much as I would like to agree even virtuoso fails sometime

To be fair I don’t blame anyone for getting beat by McDavid. He’s basically a cheat code.

 

[BBB24]

I haven't watched much of Chara at all this season but I will say this:

He got CONSTANTLY skated on last year in the playoffs by pretty much every Leafs forward. He was basically a turnstile for seven games. The only thing he was able to do to even remotely slow them down were blatant interference / holding / obstruction plays (some of which were called as penalties, most of which were ignored because he got the star treatment)

He is still great at clearing the crease and playing in a zone setup, but he looked abysmal in the open ice.

And yet, thanks to Chara the Leafs hit the links early again, what is that, 3 of the last 4 years golfing comes early for the Leafs thanks to Chara.

 

[Man Bear Pig]

When he was young he was slow so it's not like his age is the issue

Hes always been slow, that's not some kind of revelation. Oddly enough, it's probably one of the reasons why hes aged so well. Hes never relied on speed in a league that's only gotten faster over his career. Chara has made a living using his size and wingspan and to a certain degree, running interference. When I say that, I mean running interference well after the forward has dumped the puck in. Every defender does this but Chara has mastered angling players off. I'm not complaining at all, it's a skill.

 

[NyQuil]

When I say that, I mean running interference well after the forward has dumped the puck in. Every defender does this but Chara has mastered angling players off. I'm not complaining at all, it's a skill.

Ugh, that kind of interference and running picks destroyed the Senators against the Ducks in 2007.

It's hard to create forecheck pressure if the puck is already gone by the time the forward gets there. If you can get away with it, all the power to you. It works very well.

Ottawa hadn't played a team that did this in the first three series and relied on their heavy forecheck for turnovers against less physical opponents in Pittsburgh, New Jersey and Buffalo.

 

[PatriceBergeronFan]

I haven't watched much of Chara at all this season but I will say this:

He got CONSTANTLY skated on last year in the playoffs by pretty much every Leafs forward. He was basically a turnstile for seven games. The only thing he was able to do to even remotely slow them down were blatant interference / holding / obstruction plays (some of which were called as penalties, most of which were ignored because he got the star treatment)

He is still great at clearing the crease and playing in a zone setup, but he looked abysmal in the open ice.

This is all wrong and tinted heavily.

Chara has been elite defensively the last few seasons but this season elite in every way. Great to see.

 

[Man Bear Pig]

Ugh, that kind of interference and running picks destroyed the Senators against the Ducks in 2007.

It's hard to create forecheck pressure if the puck is already gone by the time the forward gets there. If you can get away with it, all the power to you. It works very well.

Ottawa hadn't played a team that did this in the first three series and relied on their heavy forecheck for turnovers against less physical opponents in Pittsburgh, New Jersey and Buffalo.

Your team can run into a wall with teams who are good at it. Oddly enough, a lot of people point to Babcock for mastering that kind of interference with his teams in Detroit. Boston is really good at it too. It just doesnt get called. Its textbook interference but like I said, every team does it. If the refs called it properly, there'd be 50 penalties a game. I think around 10 years ago the league wanted to crack down on the obstruction stuff but started seeing dmen getting killed so its slowly evolved back to the way it was.