Following nearly a quarter century of NHL action, longtime Bruins captain, and current free agent Zdeno Chara is calling it a career.
The 6x All-Star announced on Instagram that he will be signing a one day contract with the Bruins and retiring from the NHL following 24 seasons in the league.
“After 25 seasons of professional hockey 1,680 NHL regular season games, 200 Stanley Cup Playoff games, and hundreds of international games I am proud to announce my decision to retire from the National Hockey League,” Chara wrote on Instagram. “In doing so, I am honored to return to TD Garden today to sign a one-day contract with the Boston Bruins and officially finish my career with the team that has meant so much to me and my family. There are so many people that have helped contribute to my success, including all of you, and I look forward to properly thanking everyone this afternoon.”
Chara, who spent 2021-22 with the New York Islanders, logged 1680 regular season NHL games, scoring 680pts (209G, 471A) while accumulating 2085 PIMs. The Trencin, Slovakia native represented his country twice at the World Hockey Championships capturing two silver medals in the process.
Originally a 3rd round (56th overall) pick of the Islanders in the 1996 NHL Entry draft, Chara also spent time with the Ottawa Senators, Boston Bruins and Washington Capitals throughout his career.
“Big-Z” was awarded the Norris Trophy as the league’s top blue liner in 2008-09, and captured the Mark Messier leadership award in 2010-11. He was also part of the Boston Bruins Stanley Cup winning team in 2011, captaining them to victory over the Vancouver Canucks in 7 games.
His 1680 games played place him 7th all time on the GP list in NHL history, and ranks 2nd all time for European born skaters trailing only Jaromir Jagr’s 1733 mark.
Chara is expected to hold a press conference later today to formalize the announcement.
-Kyle Skinner
Twitter: @JKyleSkinner
Photo: Lisa Gansky. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.