Regardless of fate of 2019-20 season, Zdeno Chara isn't planning on calling it quits

It’s been over 15 years since labor unrest led to a lockout that canned the entire 2004-05 season — preventing a club from hoisting Lord Stanley’s Cup for just the second time since the trophy’s inception way back in 1893. 

The casualties in wake of such an extended stoppage were rather apparent — revenue streams dried up, fans were forced to endure an entire winter without NHL action, players jumped overseas to keep their legs fresh and all parties involved with the league spent most of the following seasons wiping egg off their faces.


Failing to award the Stanley Cup was a black mark on the league, but the lost 2004-05 campaign was also a punch to the gut — both in the past and present — when it comes time to size up the legacies of some of the league’s best. 

For NHL stars either in the prime of their careers (Joe Thornton, Ilya Kovalchuk, Jarome Iginla, Jaromir Jagr) or just beginning to make their mark (Alex Ovechkin, Patrice Bergeron), the loss of a full 82-game slate of matchups could loom large — especially with players like Ovechkin (eighth overall in goals scored - 706) and Thornton (14th overall in total points) continuing to climb up the record books. 

For a choice few, the lost 2004-05 season represented an anticlimactic conclusion to a Hall-of-Fame career — with one final send-off and final chapter tossed to the wayside. 

Household names such as Scott Stevens, Al MacInnis and Ron Francis ultimately decided to hang up their skates before the league reconvened for the 2005-06 campaign. 

Brett Hull, who signed a two-year contract with the Coyotes ahead of the lockout, missed an entire year of service before eventually retiring just five games into the 2005-06 season after feeling as though he could no longer play up his expectations. 

Now, 15 years later, another NHL campaign is hanging in the balance — with a far more serious threat in COVID-19 grinding the 2019-20 season to a halt and potentially forcing the league punt on what was shaping up to be another entertaining playoff push. 

Health and safety should be the paramount priority when it comes to the NHL’s actions in the coming weeks, but even if the right call ultimately ends with this current campaign being scrapped — it wouldn’t make it any easier of a pill to swallow for thousands of fans and players. 

Much like the Stevens and Hulls that have come before them, the 2019-20 campaign could be the last chance that for many veterans to cap off their extensive resumes with a Cup title — whether it be 40-year-old Patrick Marleau or 43-year-old Zdeno Chara. 

The captain of a Bruins club already looking to capitalize on a dwindling championship window, Chara had plenty riding on this current season — especially after coming up just short of a title last June. 

Now, with a chance to redeem last year’s Cup Final loss in a state of flux, could this current stoppage ultimately rob Bruins fans of a chance to see Chara take the ice one last time? 

Well, the future Hall of Famer doesn’t seem to think so. 



While Chara is rather guarded when it comes to discussing his future in Boston, the veteran did note during an interview on Sportsnet's "After Hours Sunday afternoon that retirement hasn’t crept into his head — even with the added reflection time he’s been granted while quarantining down in Florida. 

Better yet, Chara remained positive about the hopes of the NHL resuming play later this summer — giving him and the 44-14-12 Bruins a chance to see through a campaign filled with plenty of promise. 

"Definitely not getting ahead of myself,” Chara said. “I'm still in the present and I still believe that we're going to play some sort of hockey this season. Whether it’s going to be some short form of the playoffs or the regular four rounds, best of seven. But that's where I'm at. I'm not getting too ahead of myself. Obviously, I still love the game, I still love going out there and competing, and if everything is right, I still want to play."

Chara’s words on Sunday echoed the sentiments that Don Sweeney shared with the media when discussing the B’s captain’s future in the coming years. 

“I think even Zdeno himself has reported that he would like to continue to play,” Sweeney said. “The really unique relationship that we have as an organization with Zdeno, and this started a bunch of years ago — the last three or four in particular — is that he has exercised the ability to show patience, allow us to plan accordingly and then adjust in his own contractual situations.

“You saw two consecutive one-year deals, which was important for us with planning and that’s, again, an extension of the relationship that he and (agent) Matt Keator have afforded us. … The ongoing dialogue has been very healthy with Zdeno. He exhibits all that passion and loyalty to us, so I think it’s unique in the fact that he’s able to communicate effectively with us and it puts us in a better situation to continue to plan accordingly and then make a decision really in mutual fashion as for what’s best for us and what’s best for Zdeno.”

While the likes of Hull, Stevens and others were at the very end of their rope by the time the 2005-06 season rolled around, Chara still has the ability to serve as the anchor on a D corps — even if he may no longer be the perennial Norris Trophy candidate of yesteryear. 

Despite regularly getting matched up against opposing top-six forwards and often granted unfavorable ice (37.70 offensive-zone faceoff percentage), Boston’s top D pairing of Chara and Charlie McAvoy still serves as a viable top grouping on the blue line — with Boston holding a 38-22 edge in 5v5 goals during the duo’s 807:13 of 5v5 TOI. 

When Chara paired with another defensive stalwart in Brandon Carlo (234:34 of 5v5 ice time together this season), Bruce Cassidy has the luxury of rolling out a shutdown option — one that could come in handy if playoff hockey returns in the coming months. 

Despite having just 25.89 percent of their faceoffs take place in the offensive zone, a Chara+Carlo pairing has only been out on the ice for five goals against in their extended time together. Among defensive pairings across the league that have logged at least 200 minutes of 5v5 TOI together, Chara + Carlo’s goals against per 60 minutes rate of 1.28 ranks eighth overall among a grouping of 157 pairs.

Not too shabby for a 43-year-old skater.

The youth movement is currently underway in Boston, especially on its blue line with the continued development of McAvoy, Carlo, Matt Grzelcyk and Jeremy Lauzon. But in Chara, the Bruins still have a 6-foot-9 security blanket that, even during the final stages of his career, still brings plenty of value whenever he hops over the boards.

When it comes to determining how much more Chara has left in the tank, it appears as though the ball is firmly in his court. And for now, it doesn't look like the B's captain is ready to call it quits quite yet.

The Bruins certainly won't object.