When Zdeno Chára was going overseas as a teenager to start his hockey career, his father Zdeněk told him: “Zdeno, I want three things from you – a Stanley Cup, a hat trick and an award for the best defenseman.”
Chára junior fulfilled all three wishes. In 2009, he won the Norris trophy for the league’s best defenseman, in January 2011 he scored the first and only hat trick in the NHL, and at the end of the same season he lifted the Stanley Cup over his head.
He managed to get all three milestones in the jersey of one club – the Boston Bruins.
He played 1,023 games for the organization, during which he scored 481 points. He led the club as captain for fourteen seasons with 33 caps.
No one will wear this number in the history of the club. On Friday night, Boston retired Zden Chara’s jersey under the roof of the TD Garden arena.
VIDEO: Zden Chara’s jersey hanging ceremony in Boston
The audience gave him a standing ovation and chanted “Thank you, Chara.”
“Being a Boston Bruins player has been and is the greatest privilege and responsibility I’ve had,” said Chára.
The three entries at the beginning of the article were a kind of agreement between father and son. But Chara’s career in Boston is defined by much more. We’ve collected 10 of the most powerful moments during his long tenure with the Bruins.
1. Stanley Cup
When he lifted the Stanley Cup over his head after a seven-game battle with Vancouver in 2011, the most valuable hockey trophy in the world had never been higher. Chára is the tallest player to ever play in the NHL.
The image of this moment has become iconic. He won the most valuable hockey trophy as the first Slovak and second European captain.
Not only did he almost lose his balance from excitement. While his teammates celebrated in the locker room, Chara was in the infirmary receiving injections because he was dehydrated.
“It showed how much effort he was willing to sacrifice. He always left everything on the ice,” recalled coach Claude Julien.
He played 663 minutes and 43 seconds in 24 playoff games. He recorded two goals and seven assists. He played both power forwards and weak points. Twice he stood up from the defender’s position on the bullpen, he won both times.
2. The best defender in the league
Chára came to Boston in the summer of 2006 as a free agent after finishing his time in Ottawa. Already at that time, he was among the absolute top defensive players in the NHL, but he reached the real peak only in the 2008/09 season.
Even today, the Norris Trophy is often awarded to the league’s most productive defenseman. However, this was not the case in Char’s case.
While Washington defenseman Mike Green scored 73 points, Chara had “only” 50. Still, he had no competition. On the ice, he dominated offensively and defensively, dictating the tempo of the game and changing the behavior of his opponents.
In the five-on-five game, Boston had a 56.25-percent share of goals scored with him on the ice, he spent an average of 3:46 per game on the power play and 3:22 minutes per meeting on the power play.
“Zdeno changed the dynamic of what it means to be an elite defenseman. It’s not just about blocking shots, it’s about the fear he instills in forwards,” said Bruins coach Julien at the time.
Chára became the first – and to this day the only – Slovak to win the Norris trophy.
3. He also played with a broken jaw
If there was a definition of hockey heroism, it would be Chara in the 2019 final against St. Louis.
In the fourth game, the puck hit him directly in the face. The result? A crushed jaw, blood and the need for surgery. Doctors advised him to quit, but Zdeno had his jaw “stitched” with wires and a few days later he was back on the ice with a full-face mask.
When the TD Garden announcer introduced him to the Game 5 lineup, the arena nearly fell over with the noise.
“He couldn’t speak, he only communicated with gestures and writing on a piece of paper, but his presence in the locker room gave us incredible strength,” recalled goalkeeper Tuukka Rask.
“That was not the only injury I had then. I had a damaged shoulder and a sore elbow,” Chara recalled.
VIDEO: Zdeno Chára started even with a broken jaw
Although the Bruins ended up losing the series, Char’s feat became legendary. “It’s not a fairy tale, it’s the truth. I don’t think something like this will ever happen again.” stated Cam Neely, longtime president of Boston.
4. A thousand matches in one jersey
Playing a thousand games in the NHL is an achievement. Playing them in one team as a captain is unique. In November 2019, Chára became the sixth player in Bruins history to reach this milestone.
Club legends congratulated him right on the ice. This milestone underlined his loyalty to the team that gave him the chance to become a leader.
“Boston is not just a place where I play hockey. It’s my home,” said an emotional Chara.
Loyalty to the fans and the organization was always in the first place for him, which he confirmed with every substitution, every blocked puck and every extra hour he spent in the gym.
5. Chara was also investigated by the police
At the beginning of his career, the tall Chara was considered a brawler. He protected Pállfy in the Islanders, Hossa in Ottawa. When he played against them later, they were afraid of him.
Although he didn’t know his brother in matches, he never went into a fight with the goal of hurting someone.
On March 8, 2011, Montreal forward Max Pacioretty ended up in the hospital with a broken vertebra and a severe concussion after Char’s hit in the substitution.
The incident caused hysterical reactions in Canada. Fans from the hall called 911, and the police even investigated.
Chara, known for his fairness, was devastated, the tough boy regretted it. He was not disciplined for the fight. Pacioretty recovered in time for the 2011/12 season.
This moment led to the modification of the design of the goalposts for the substitutes throughout the NHL. Long after the incident in Montreal, Chara remained enemy number one.
6. The hardest shot
Chara broke the laws of physics in 2012 in Ottawa. In the NHL All-Star Game, his shot speed was measured at 108.8 miles per hour (175.1 km/h) during skills competitions. He created both a world record and a league record.
His shot was not just about brute force, but about perfectly mastered technique and the use of his extremely long hockey stick.
To this day, despite technological progress, no one has broken this record in the NHL.
It is a permanent proof of his unique physical predispositions, which, combined with hard training, were unmatched in the league.
7. NHL hat trick
In January 2011, in a game against the Carolina Hurricanes, Chara showed that his shot is not only hard, but also accurate.
Even now, three goals in one game is a rarity for a defender, but for the 206 centimeter giant it was proof of his versatility.
“My father always told me that a defender must also be able to attack. I’m glad that I fulfilled this promise,” he smiled after the game, while hundreds of caps fell on the ice.
It was the only hat-trick of his career and it came at the perfect time, during a season that ended in absolute triumph.
He became only the fourth Boston defenseman to score three goals in one game.
8. A leader on and off the ice
In hockey circles, it is said that the captain’s “C” on the jersey does not make anyone a leader, one has to be one. Chara confirmed this in 2011 when he won the leadership award.
He changed the culture in Boston, without which many believe they would never have won the 2011 Stanley Cup. With the help of Patrick Bergeron, he insisted on the pillars of hard work, professionalism, responsibility and respect for all. They were just as important as scoring goals or honest defense.
Zdeno Chara during the Stanley Cup playoff final series against St. Louis Blues in 2019. (Author: TASR/AP)
“His work ethic is contagious. When you see a 40-year-old guy doing more pull-ups after training, you can’t let up,” said young Charlie McAvoy, whom Chara “raised” in hockey.
The Mark Messier Leadership Award was a recognition of his ability to lead people not only by yelling in the locker room, but above all by his own example.
9. He was everywhere against Toronto
The streak against Toronto in 2013 is considered one of the craziest in playoff history. The Bruins were losing in the decisive seventh game 1:4 with less than 10 minutes to go.
They ended up winning the game and Chara was on the ice for all the goals, including the one in overtime when Bergeron made the decision.
Boston was eliminated by Toronto, in the second round by the NY Rangers and later by Pittsburgh. The Bruins played in the final, but lost to Chicago with Marian Hoss 2:4.
10. He ended up playing for Boston
Although Chára changed jerseys for Washington and the NY Islanders at the end of his career, everyone knew where he belonged. On September 20, 2022, he signed a symbolic one-day contract with Boston to officially retire as a member of the team.
It was an act of deep respect between the club and the player. At the press conference, he sat with tears in his eyes, surrounded by his family, wearing a Bruins jersey.
Boston retired Zden Chara’s number (Author: Honzo Blaško)
“My heart never left Boston,” he admitted. This moment was the end of the story of a boy from Trenčín who was once told that he was too tall for hockey.
He left as a legend, whose number 33 rightfully hangs today next to the biggest figures in world hockey.
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