(Photo Credit: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
By Carrie Salls | Find me on Twitter @nittgrl73
Bruins Captain Zdeno Chara gave an update on his status for the beginning of the 2019-2020 season following captains’ practice on Friday. The 42-year-old defenseman said the answer to the question of whether he will suit up on opening night, Oct. 3, in Dallas depends on how he progresses through camp.
Bruins fans will remember that Chara missed time in the 2019 Stanley Cup Finals after suffering a jaw injury. Although he returned to play in the series, he donned a full-face shield and wrote answers to reporters’ questions because the injury made talking difficult. Chara revealed following the playoffs that he did have surgery to repair jaw fractures.
A broken jaw was not the only injury Chara was nursing. Boston general manager Don Sweeney said in June that Chara also had repairs done on his elbow.
Chara also missed game four of the Eastern Conference Finals, the game in which the Bruins swept the Carolina Hurricanes to advance to the Cup Finals. The exact nature of the injury that kept him off the ice for that game was less clear, and it ultimately did not keep Chara from starting the St. Louis series before suffering the jaw injury.
Injury woes do not seem to be slowing the captain’s preparation for the upcoming season. He has been at both practices held this week at Warrior Ice Arena and was spotted there without the full shield that he was wearing to protect his injured jaw in the finals. Chara even shared video of some of his workouts on social media over the summer.
The good news is that it sounds like Chara currently hopes he will be ready to go. Hopefully that is a good sign that any time he does miss at the start of the season will be minimal.
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