"Big Zee" is going to be taking it e-zee. Zdeno Chara, the 6-foot-9 defenseman who made a giant impact on the game, announced his retirement on Tuesday after 24 NHL seasons.
Chara shared on his Instagram account that he has signed a one-day contract with the Boston Bruins to “officially finish my career with the team that has meant so much to me and my family.” Chara, now 45, was seen skating with the Bruins at their practice facility as recently as last week – giving way to speculation that he might continue playing this season.
Alas, the 2009 Norris Trophy winner has called it a career after 1,680 regular-season NHL games – which rank seventh all-time – over stops with the New York Islanders, Ottawa Senators, Boston Bruins, and Washington Capitals.
Chara is a surefire, first-ballot Hockey Hall of Fame selection. He was voted to the end-of-season All-Star team, making him one of the four best blueliners in the NHL, a total of seven times. Chara finished in fifth place or better in Norris Trophy voting eight times.
Chara quite literally changed the fabric of the game. The NHL provided him a special dispensation for the creation of a specially elongated stick to fit his 6-foot-9 frame. He will also go down as one of the best free agent signings of all time. After two stellar seasons with the Senators, Chara signed with the Bruins on July 1, 2006, a five-year, $37.5 million pact that set the Bruins on a championship course for 13 years.
With Chara on the backend, the Bruins captured their first Stanley Cup in 2011 in 39 years, then advanced to the Stanley Cup Final again in 2013 and 2019. The roars Chara received in TD Garden during the Stanley Cup Final as he sat on the bench with a fractured jaw will echo as long as his legacy.
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