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Boston Bruins Rumors: Zdeno Chara may retire

By Matt Hawkins

TORONTO, ONTARIO - AUGUST 19: Head coach Rod Brind'Amour of the Carolina Hurricanes shakes hands with Zdeno Chara #33 of the Boston Bruins after the Bruins 2-1 win in Game Five of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on August 19, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ONTARIO - AUGUST 19: Head coach Rod Brind'Amour of the Carolina Hurricanes shakes hands with Zdeno Chara #33 of the Boston Bruins after the Bruins 2-1 win in Game Five of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on August 19, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara may decide to hang up his skates instead of signing with a team.

A few weeks ago, we learned that several teams have been in contact with Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara. However, he is still unsigned due to the lack of specifics for the 2021 NHL season.

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Chara and his agent made it clear that they want to know everything and anything about the 2021 season — how many games, when will it start, division realignments, will it be played it bubble/hub cities, etc.

Last week it was announced that the season would be 56 games and start on Jan. 13. With this announcement, I figured a Chara re-signing announcement wouldn’t be too far behind.

However, this may not be the case.

In a recent article by The Daily Goal Horn, the idea that Chara may decide to retire was brought up. With so many uncertainties for this upcoming season, this option doesn’t seem so farfetched for the 43-year-old defenseman.

It’s clear that Chara wants to know all the specifics for the 2021 season, and with the NHL and NHLPA still undecided about hub cities it doesn’t seem soon that we’ll get a re-signing announcement for Chara.

Additionally, there is still the chance that Chara retires even when all the details are confirmed. He may not think that playing hockey is worth the risk of potentially catching COVID-19 and retire. After all, a year off for a defenseman at his age doesn’t give him good odds of being signed the next year.

However, I’m still holding out hope that Chara does re-sign with the Bruins on a cheap, one-year deal. Even if he isn’t playing his normal 20+ minutes a game and is being used on the third pairing or as a seventh defenseman, his leadership and veteran presence is truly a great help to the team — especially the young, inexperienced left side of the B’s defense.

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But, if Chara does decide to call it a career, I wish him well and appreciate all the great things he has done for the Black and Gold and the Boston community. He truly has had a hall-of-fame career.

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