At 41 years old, Bruins captain Zdeno Chara remains as one of the most interesting defenseman in all of the National Hockey League. Although his play on the ice is not what it once was, the tremendous shape he keeps himself in and how hard he trains has not changed one bit.
After once again anchoring the Bruins blueline in 2017-18, the Bruins inked their captain to a one-year deal, bringing Chara back for his 13th season in Boston. With Chara taking a year-by-year approach, there's at least one person who sees Chara sticking around for several more seasons.
"He's one of our, if not our best defensemen. Zee's [Chara] got a lot of hockey left in him. I know that for a fact. He trains harder than anybody I know. His conditioning is through the roof," Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy told WEEI'S Dale & Keefe Tuesday morning.
"He wants to have his legacy run longer than just one or more year. I wouldn't put it past him to play four or five more years in this league. But again, that's speculation, but we're looking forward to another great year from him. He's our leader."
The Bruins are in different position entering training camp next month with eight NHL ready defensemen. Chara obviously has nothing to worry about in terms of internal competition.
Now Cassidy may truly believe that Chara has four or fives more seasons left, but lets be realistic for a second. The league is getting faster and faster each season as more and more young talent are shuffled into the mix. As well as Chara trains, it's not going to be easy for him to be able to compete with the speed of the game's young guns.
As well as he's played for the Bruins in his late 30's and now 40's, we've seen flashes of a diminishing Chara at times.
Chara averaged nearly 23 minutes a game last season. With 1,423 regular season games and 159 playoff games under his belt, there's plenty of wear and tear on Chara's body.
It's reasonable to think that if Chara doesn't face a major regression in 2018-19, he'll be back with the Bruins again in 2019-20. Many close to the Bruins believe they'll bring Chara back on one-year deals until the giant decides to call it quits.
Regardless of what Cassidy thinks of Chara's future, it will be wise for the Bruins to limit Chara's minutes this coming season.