Zdeno Chara was officially enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame this past weekend. On Monday, they gave their speeches at the Brookfield Place right across from the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The 2025 Hall of Fame class, 8 members in total, were players Jennifer Botterill, Zdeno Chara, Brianna Decker, Duncan Keith, Alexander Mogilny, and Joe Thornton, and Builders Jack Parker and Danièle Sauvageau.
3 Bruins, Zdeno Chara, Joe Thornton, and Jack Parker, lead the class over the weekend throughout various Hall of Fame activities, ending with the full induction ceremony on Monday night. And there was not one dry eye in the audience during the speeches that left all honorees with tears in their eyes while accepting the greatest honor in the sport.
Chara never thought he would be in the Hall of Fame
One of the quotes that stuck out while watching the Hockey Hall of Fame Induction, was when Zdeno Chara said, "Growing up in small town Slovakia, Trencin, you don't dream about nights like this."
Chara played over 20 decades in the league and to imagine that when he was younger he never imagined what he would become, would make anyone emotional.
Back then, he would "dream about a patch of ice that doesn't melt before your finish practice, ... finding a stick that's not broken or skates that can still fit for a couple more years." Eric Russo recounted Chara's speech on BostonBruins.com.
He was a third-round pick by the New York Islanders in the 1996 NHL Draft, where he played for four seasons before being traded to Ottawa in 2001.
But his longest tenure came in 2006, when he signed with the Boston Bruins as a free agent, going on to play with the Black and Gold for 14 years, implementing his status as legend in the world of hockey.
Chara helped end the Bruins' Stanley Cup drought in 2011, while serving as captain for all 14 years. He was a six-time NHL All-Star, as well as winning the Norris Trophy for being the top defenseman in the NHL in 2009.
Chara did not forget to thank all those who joined him for this journey and even gave special acknowledgement to Patrice Bergeron, who was Chara's longest teammate and his co-captain toward the end of Chara's time in Boston.
"I want to single out one player - I want to thank Patrice Bergeron...my longest teammate, my co-captain - Bergy, I could always count on you. You showed me and helped me to become a better leader, player, but more importantly a better person." -- Big Zee pic.twitter.com/M50yq81MtH
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) November 11, 2025
Chara and Bergeron played all 14 years in Boston together, and both retired as Boston Bruins. Even though Chara played his last 2 seasons away from the Bruins. On September 20, 2022, Chara retired from the NHL, signing a one-year contract with the Bruins.
He can now say that dreams certainly do come true, even if you do not believe they are there to begin with.