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Zdeno Chara wants to continue playing in Boston

September 4, 2020, 10:32 AM ET [30 Comments]
Anthony Travalgia
Boston Bruins Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
There’s going to be a day where the Bruins take the ice for their first pregame warmup of the season and things will look a little different.

There will be the captain’s ‘C” stitched to the jersey of Patrice Bergeron in the precise location where his alternate captain’s ‘A” has sat. There will also be a 6-foot-9 presence missing from the ice.

Current Bruins captain Zdeno Chara hopes that day is not coming in 2020.

“I want to stay in Boston. I want to be a Boston Bruin. I want to continue to lead by example and share my experiences and my game skills with the younger players and my teammates,” Chara said in the team’s end of the year media availability Thursday. “That hasn’t changed. I’m committed and we’ll see what’s going to happen next.”

For the first time since signing with the Bruins in July of 2006, Chara enters the offseason without a new contract. Chara has played each of the previous two seasons on one-year contracts, signing both in March of 2018 and 2019 respectively.

But now with the uncertainty that faces the NHL in the 2020-21 season and beyond, Chara remains left wondering what’s next for not only his NHL career, but his tenure as the captain of the Boston Bruins.

The one thing that is clear to him is that he’s not ready to hang up the skates just yet, and the 43-year old feels there’s still some gas left in the tank.

“I feel strong physically and I’m positive and I believe I can still play this game and contribute to the team,” said Chara. “The future, I think that I’m still very passionate about playing this game and I think most of us are.”

As much uncertainty as there is facing the league as a whole thanks to the COIVD-19 pandemic, much uncertainly faces the Bruins blueline, especially on their left side.

Chara and Torey Krug have been the Bruins dynamic one-two punch on the left side for several seasons now. However, both are entering free agency as unrestricted free agents and at this point with the salary cap expected to remain flat for at least the next two seasons, it’s starting to seem very unlikely both will be back in Boston next season.

“I love Boston, I love the city. We have the best fans in the world,” said Chara. “I have no plans to move or go anywhere else.”

On Thursday, Chara did not sound like someone who felt like he would not be back in Boston next season, instead sounding like a player under contract for years to come who is looking to turn the page from a disappointing ending to a fresh start in 2020-21.

“I think that there is some very positive signs of this team and we’re going to continue to work very hard to get better and play stronger. I think that we have a very strong bond with our teammates and we just tried to do our best to be committed to this organization and to winning another Stanley Cup,” said Chara.

“Again, I’m excited about the future of this team and like I said, we are going to do whatever we can to win another Stanley Cup.”

When the NHL returned from it’s nearly four-month hiatus with it’s 2020 version of bubble hockey, Chara struggled to adapt to the unique format, looking a step behind at times.

In the bubble, Chara failed to provide the Bruins with the shutdown defense we’ve come to expect from him, even as he’s played well into his 40’s.

In 13 playoff games, Chara saw 204:34 of five-on-five ice according to Natural Stat Trick. His 43.65 Corsi For rating was the lowest among Bruins defensemen.

In the 38:04 of five-on-five ice time Chara saw against the Lightning’s top line of Brayden Point, Nikita Kucherov and Ondrej Palat, the Lightning had a 64% Corsi For advantage, a 31-18 Shots For advantage, while generating 12 High Danger Scoring Chances. The Lightning’s top line also struck for two goals with Chara on the ice, generating an Expected Goals For percentage of 3.08.

“I don’t think we played our best, but I thought from the arrival to the bubble and through the first few games, we were getting better and better. I think we were starting to really improve against the series against Carolina,” said Chara.

“Whether we needed another round to be playing at our best before we faced Tampa, who knows. But I thought that we were getting better and better and then we faced Tampa and I don’t think our game was at the best. But who knows what would happen if we face them maybe later on.”

I think it’s a bit unfair to write Chara off using 13 bubble hockey games as the sample size, especially given the time off, the format and how quickly Chara and everyone else had to go from not being able to skate at all, all the way to being tasked with shutting down one of hockey’s top lines.

Chara played the 2019-20 season with a base salary and cap hit of $2 million. He earned himself an additional $1.5 million in bonuses. $1.25 million came from appearing in 10 games, the other $250,000 from the Bruins making the playoffs.

If Chara and the Bruins are able to find common ground, bringing Chara back for what would be his 15th season in Boston, it will have to be on a similar deal, but this time with a smaller base salary.

Chara and Bruins management have yet to discuss details of what another contract may look like, but Chara hopes that happens sooner rather than later.

“I haven’t heard any – obviously we just, a few days ago we just finished our playoffs. I think thats usually the way it works, I think the team has some sort of follow up meetings,” said Chara.

“They’re going to probably go over the season and then I think that at some point I’m sure, there is going to be some exchange of conversations and meetings. Whenever that is going to be, I don’t know. But like I said, personally, the sooner the better.”

Someday in the very soon future, #33 will be hanging from the rafters inside TD Garden. But if things fall the way Chara would like them to, #33 will be doing what he’s done inside TD Garden for 14 seasons now: protecting Boston’s blueline.
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