Boston Bruins: Zdeno Chara Trade Talk

Boston Bruins: Zdeno Chara Trade Talk Should Be Looked At This Offseason As Revamp On The Blue-line is Needed

The Boston Bruins made a big commitment to a big defenseman in 2006 when they signed Zdeno Chara to a contract worth $37,500,000 over five years that would pay him $7,500,000 per season. Zdeno Chara was coming off his best season to date with career highs in goals and points with 16 goals and 43 points in 71 games, and the Bruins clearly understood his value.

“Zdeno is one of the premier defencemen in the National Hockey League and we are thrilled that he will be in a Boston uniform for the next five years,” Bruins then-interim general manager and current-New York Rangers general manager Jeff Gorton said at the time. “He is a big reason why Ottawa allowed the fewest goals in the Eastern Conference last season and that is one area that we were committed to improving on our team.”

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Zdeno Chara was 29 at this time, and the contract made sense for a Bruins team that was looking for a new identity. Not only was Zdeno Chara six-foot-nine and an undeniable talent on the back-end, he was also a solid player to build a team around. Jeff Gorton stated that Zdeno Chara could come in right away and be a leader on the club, especially for the young players. “We also feel that he will serve as a tremendous example to the number of young defensemen we have on our roster.”

Zdeno Chara‘s contract ended following the 2011 season, and the Bruins were just coming off of their first Stanley Cup victory since 1972. The Bruins made an even bigger commitment to their captain that offseason by extending Zdeno Chara to a seven year, $45,500,000 contract with an average salary cap hit of $6,916,667. The Bruins hadn’t missed a post-season since implementing Zdeno Chara into their roster at that point, and extending seemed like a no-brainer at the time. What was questionable, however, was the term that was given to a defenseman that was already 33 years old.

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The Boston Bruins missed the playoffs for two consecutive years before they took their team in a new direction and signed Zdeno Chara. After missing the playoffs for the last two seasons, it’s a definite possibility that the Bruins could look to change their team again without Zdeno Chara moving forward. Zdeno Chara has a no-movement clause for the remainder of his contract, however, and trading him could be difficult even if he chooses to waive it. While he would probably waive it to help the team if a trade was somehow facilitated, it’s clear that Big Z doesn’t want to go anywhere.

“They showed their loyalty,” Zdeno Chara said. “They showed their trust. I want to show it back. It would be easy to find teams that are close and run away from this situation. That would be (saying), ‘It’s not ideal. Let’s run away.’ I don’t want to do that.” Chara also said “I want to stick with it and (I’ll) go through phases like we did early when we were a non-playoff team and were built into a playoff team and eventually won. Now we’ve declined a little bit. I want to go back up and finish on the right note and bring winning back.”

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General manager Don Sweeney made his perspective on the matter known as well when he said “Zee’s a big part of our team,” He also said “He’s a big part of our team. Arguably, we look and say we need to have better players to support our good players.” The Bruins need to revamp their blue line this offseason, and clearing up nearly $7,000,000 this offseason could be a smart move for the Bruins who could definitely use the salary cap room.