2. Bruins face former captain for the first time in 2021.
The later the Zdeno Chara free agency went into the offseason, the more and more it looked like he might actually leave the Bruins after a 14-year run.
It became official on Dec. 30 when it was announced that Chara was heading to the Nations Capital to join the talented Capitals, who just happened to be a new division foe of Boston, who the Black and Gold will face eight times this season.
In eight games with his new club, Chara has been everything that they hoped he would be. He scored his first goal as a Capital Thursday night in the second period of their five-goal onslaught of the Islanders. He has two assists and is an impressive plus-7 on a team that has had a tendency early this season to give up their fair share of goals.
For 14 years, Big Z was the face and leader of the Bruins blue line. Over the last couple of years, he signed one-year contracts to return under team-friendly deals. He helped break a 39-year Stanley Cup drought in 2011 and also helped lead them to Stanley Cup Final appearance in 2013 and 2019.
Chara has moved on and so have the Bruins. It will be strange to see him wear the red, white, and blue tonight instead of the spoked-B. Don’t expect Big Z to easy on his old teammates.