( Photo Credit: USA TODAY Sports Images )
By: Lucas Pearson | Follow Me On Twitter @lucaspearson_
The big man isn’t retiring anytime soon.
The Bruins have announced that they have re-signed defenseman Zdeno Chara to a one-year deal worth $2 million with another $1.75 million in performance incentives. He will receive $1.25 million at ten games, $250 thousand for making the playoffs and another $250 thousand for winning the Stanley Cup.
( Photo Credit: USA TODAY Sports Photo )
Even at age 42, the future Hall-of-Famer is still having a very productive season. In 55 games this season predominantly featured on the top pair with Charlie Mcavoy, Chara has scored four goals and tallied seven assists to go along with a plus 16 rating. He continues to be great in the possession metrics as well with a 53.7 CF% and 54.7 FF%. He’s a huge asset to Boston’s 10th-ranked penalty kill and continues to be an incredible leader on, and off the ice.
Chara was originally drafted by the New York Islanders in the 3rd round of the 1996 NHL Draft. Crazily enough, there’s actually another active player from that draft in fellow 42-year-old Matt Cullen (the only other player older than Chara). In 2001, Chara was apart of a massive trade with the Ottawa Senators that sent Bill Muckalt, the 2nd overall pick in the NHL draft (which was used to draft Jason Spezza) and Chara for Alexei Yashin. In 2006, the Bruins signed then UFA Chara to a massive deal for five years at $7.5 million per year.
#NHLBruins sign Zdeno Chara to 1-year contract extension: https://t.co/2F7qIsO6Gs pic.twitter.com/cNYY3DqMA1
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) March 23, 2019
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Chara continues to amaze after 21 seasons in the NHL. He is immensely important to this Bruins team. He’s proven to be an incredible role model to the entire Bruins organization, but especially to the growth of the crop of young d-men, the Bruins have, namely Charly Mcavoy.
There’s no questioning if the Slovakia-native will be Hall of Fame bound. Chara has been in the top five in Norris Trophy voting eight times, capturing the award in the 2008-2009 season. He set a career high of 19 goals that season and was a plus 23 in 80 games.
(Photo Credit: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
He, of course, doesn’t just have regular season success. He led the Bruins to their first Stanley Cup in almost 40 years in 2011 where he was a league-leading plus 16 and was on the ice for almost half the game, averaging 27:39 minutes of ice-time a game. He was a hug factor in the Bruins 2013 cup appearance where he actually averaged even more ice-time than the previous cup run at 29:32 a game and tacked on 15 points in 22 games.
While his legs have slowed down, this deal is still a bargain for the captain. He continues to be the heart-and-soul of this Boston team, and it shows how much he values the team in this deal. While the thought of Chara leaving is unfathomable, he certainly could’ve gotten a bigger deal due to his importance to the roster. His small cap hit allows the Bruins to allocate more of their cap to their upcoming RFAs with Danton Heinen, Brandon Carlo, and Charlie Mcavoy all looking for significant raises next season.
The man just never ceases to amaze and will stay the “C” of the black and gold for at least one more run.
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