Time is a flat circle. At least that’s how it appears to be for defenseman Zdeno Chara. The 44 year old free agent will be rejoining the New York Islanders on a one year deal for the 2021-22 season.
New York originally drafted Chara in the 3rd round (56th overall) in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft. Chara spent his first four seasons with the Islanders, taking part in 231 NHL games for the club before being dealt to Ottawa in the infamous Alexei Yashin trade in 2001.
The 6’9” defenseman previously spent time with the Islanders, Senators, Bruins and most recently the Washington Capitals. Chara claims that multiple teams were interested in his services, but chose to sign with the Islanders in part because he could remain close to family (most of the Chara clan still reside in Boston).
For his career, Chara’s accumulated 666pts (207G, 459A) in 1608 games at the NHL level. The towering Slovakian defender has also put up 2000 career penalty minutes, and brings a mean streak to the blue line wherever he goes. Chara currently sits at 13th all time on the career games played list, but could see his rank go as high as 7th all time if he plays anything close to a full season in 2021-22.
Already with a Stanley Cup and a Norris Trophy to his name, Chara believes he can still compete at the highest levels of the game, and wants a chance to etch his name on Lord Stanley’s mug one more time before calling it a career.
Financial terms of the deal were not immediately disclosed. The Islanders open their season Oct 14th against the Carolina Hurricanes.