The Boston Bruins have announced plans to retire former captain Zdeno Chara’s number 33 on January 15th against the Seattle Kraken.
“There will never be another Zdeno Chara,” owner Jeremy Jacobs said. “From his skill, size and physical dominance on the ice, to his leadership in the locker room and impact on the Boston community, ‘Zee’ is a legend of the game.”
Chara will become the 13th player in Bruins franchise history to have his number retired by the organization. Since his retirement, the now 48 year old has rejoined the organization in a hockey operations role.
“This honor is greater than anything I could have imagined when I first came to Boston,” said Chara. “I am forever grateful to the Bruins organization for trusting me to lead, to all my teammates past and present, to the fans whose passion and energy made Boston feel like home, and to my family who made everything possible.”
It’s the latest accolade for the towering blue liner who was also recently selected to join the Hockey Hall of Fame class of 2025, and will be enshrined in a ceremony this November. Big Z will be joined in that class by Jennifer Botterill, Brianna Decker, Duncan Keith, Alexander Mogilny, Jack Parker, Daniele Sauvageau, and Joe Thornton.
“Zdeno Chara brought with him an unmatched presence, combining size, strength and skill with a leadership style that elevated everyone around him,” said Bruins president Cam Neely, who has also had his jersey retired by the club. “Zdeno set the standard with his professionalism, his legendary work ethic and his fierce competitiveness, and he did it all while representing our organization with the utmost class.”
The Bruins are set to kick off their 2025-26 NHL campaign on Wednesday, October 8th against the Washington Capitals.
Photo: Sarah Connors. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.