Not about to hang it up
No plans by Chara to retire
We are in the age of the extended career for elite athletes. Tom Brady led the Patriots to a Super Bowl win when he was 39 years old. At the age of 45, Jaromir Jagr was often the best player on the Florida Panthers.
So is it any wonder that Bruins captain Zdeno Chara — noted workout warrior and legendary physical specimen — currently sees no expiration date following his 19th NHL season?
Chara, who addressed reporters at Warrior Ice Arena on the B’s breakup day yesterday, made it clear that he’s not yet remotely thinking about a post-playing career. And with that desire to squeeze every last shift out of his 6-foot-9 frame, he knows that there’s no guarantee it will end in a Bruins uniform.
“I can’t really say the number,” Chara said. “Some people say 45. Jaromir said 50. I can’t really put a number on that. I just want to have fun and compete and work hard. I love everything about it. I love the sacrifice. I love the pain that goes with it. I love playing with younger guys, I love playing with older guys. I love being around my teammates. I’m getting so much support from my family. This is what I want to do and I want to do it as long as I can be effective. My job is to be ready and be effective.”
Chara has one year left on his contract, which will have a cap hit of $4 million. He can officially sign an extension after July 1. There is no doubt in his mind that he would like that extension to come from the Bruins.
“Of course I would,” Chara said. “It’s something that I want to continue to play. As I’ve said many times, I take a lot of pride in my offseason training and being ready for every season. But again, it’s something that management has to think about and make a decision on that. But I’ve said it many times. I’d like to play beyond this contract and I want to still be a very effective and I still want to get better and improve and maintain my game and keep adding to my game. It’s a game that’s going extremely fast forward, with a lot of improvements and skill assets and you have to be able to make those adjustments. That’s my focus before every season, to be able to make adjustments.”
As usual, Chara led the Bruins in minutes, but at a manageable pace (23:19 per game), thanks in part to not playing much on the power play. But he was a monster on the B’s leagueleading penalty kill, leading the team with 3:46 of shorthanded time a game. It was not uncommon for him to kill an entire twominute minor. Considering he wasn’t a regular powerplay contributor, his offensive numbers (10 goals, 19 assists) were pretty good, too. After Bruce Cassidy took over Feb. 7 as interim coach, he was a plus-17.
You would think that the B’s would be open to an extension. But what kind? At Chara’s age, it would be team friendly if he would go year-to-year on deals until he’s done. But if Chara wants a multi-year deal, that could give the team pause. As finetuned an athlete as he is, there’s no telling how soon — and dramatic — a dropoff is coming.
Chara isn’t a lifelong Bruin. He started with the Islanders, then became a top pair defenseman in Ottawa before signing his first big deal with the B’s in 2006 (perhaps the best free agent signing in NHL history). And it was with Boston that he won a Stanley Cup, as well as a Norris Trophy. He is, first and foremost, a Bruin in most people’s minds.
When asked if it was important to finish his career in Boston, Chara paused.
“There is a vision. I do have a vision,” he said. “But as we all know, anything can happen in hockey. As much as in sport it’s so beautiful to have players staying with one team and retiring with that team, it’s possible but it’s something that you can’t always rely on. It could happen. And it also might not happen.”
The contract talk will have to wait a couple months. For now, he is in decompression mode — Chara style. He said he’s indulging himself with some rest, a few home-cooked meals and an occasional sweet. Soon, it will be back to the grind he loves.
“It is day No. 3 without a workout,” he said with a straight face. “I don’t plan to have that many more days.”