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Zdeno Chara, Boston Bruins (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

Bruins Announce They Will Retire Zdeno Chara’s Jersey

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers
By Zander Manning | Last updated Oct 6, 2025 4:15 PM ET

The Boston Bruins announced Monday that they will retire Zdeno Chara’s jersey No. 33. The move comes just three years after Chara retired from the NHL and five years since he left the Bruins to play for the Washington Capitals.

“It is truly beyond words to see my jersey, number 33, raised to the rafters at TD Garden,” Chara told reporters. “This honor is greater than anything I could have imagined when I first came to Boston.”

Chara’s jersey will be the first to be retired since 2022, when the Bruins retired Willie O’Ree’s No. 22. However, Chara becomes the first 2000s-era player to have his number retired by the organization.

Chara’s Career by the Numbers (Pre-Boston)

Chara began his career a bit unceremoniously – being passed over in his first year of draft eligibility in 1995. In 1996, however, he was drafted 56th overall by the New York Islanders.

After one season with the Prince George Cougars of the Western Hockey League (WHL), during which he scored three goals in 49 games, Chara turned pro in 1997-98, joining the Islanders’ American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, Kentucky Thoroughblades, playing 48 games and recording four goals and nine assists.

In the next season, he split time between the AHL and the NHL, combining for four goals and eight assists through 82 games. Following three seasons in New York, Chara was traded to the Ottawa Senators in the Alexei Yashin deal.

Chara played in a combined 299 regular-season games with the Senators, recording 51 goals and 95 assists, before he signed as a free agent with the Bruins on July 1, 2006.

Chara’s Career With Boston

In Boston, Chara found a home. He was named captain in his first season with the club and served in that role until 2020, when he left the team for the Capitals. With the Bruins, Chara won the Stanley Cup in 2011 and was named an All-Star five times (2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, and 2012), winning Hardest Shot Competition in each year, with his slap shot topping out at 108.8 miles per hour.

Chara also won the James Norris Memorial Trophy in 2009 as the NHL’s best defenseman, was part of the All-Decade team in 2009, won the Mark Messier Leadership Award, and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame this year.

On top of his NHL awards, he also was awarded seven team-specific accolades as nominated by team executives and coaches. In 2008 and 2019, Chara won the John P. Bucyk Award for his contributions to the community. In 2009, one season removed from his first John P. Bucyk Award, he was awarded the Second Star (out of three) for being one of the three most valuable players on the team.

Following the 2011-12 season, he won the Eddie Shore Award, an award that goes to a player who exemplifies hustle and determination. Finally, in 2024, Chara landed the ultimate prizes for any Bruins’ player by being named to both the Top 100 Best Bruins Players of All Time and to their All-Centennial Team.

Zdeno Chara, Boston Bruins (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

Chara is the tallest player in NHL history, at 6-foot-9. He is also the first NHL player born in the Eastern Bloc to captain an NHL team to a Stanley Cup victory, and he played the most games by a defenseman in NHL history.

He holds the record for most Game 7 appearances in NHL history, and the record for the oldest defenseman to score a game-winning goal in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, twice – one for the playoffs and one in the Stanley Cup Final.

Where is Chara Now?

This season, Chara will rejoin the Bruins as a hockey operations adviser, working as an intermediary between the players and coaching staff to help with communication.

Chara’s jersey retirement ceremony will take place on Jan. 15, 2026, before Boston’s 7 p.m. matchup against the Seattle Kraken.