When free agency opened on July 1, 2006, Zdeno Chara had no idea where it was going to lead him. It was different back then, as there was no pre-free agency contact, and guys literally had to wait until it officially opened.
When it opened, it was nerve-wracking for Chara, but in the end, he signed with the Boston Bruins, and the rest, they say, is history. He was named team captain, and little did anyone know what was about to happen. Chara would lead a memorable run of Boston Bruins hockey that ended with a 2011 Stanley Cup championship. However, how it started and how it ended nobody saw coming, even Chara.
"When I became a free agent back then, we were not allowed to explore the cities and teams (ahead of time)," Chara said Sunday in Toronto. "We basically had one phone line and my agent said, 'Hey, you have to be ready to make a decision because when (free agency) opens at noon, we don't know who is going to call.
"I remember me and my wife, Tatiana, we were sitting on the bed, and we were just thinking, like, 'Where are we going? Where are we signing?'" Chara said. "And it's a huge unknown, because you get the phone call and there's a team who is interested. There's a deal. Two minutes later my agent says, 'There are another two teams with the same offer.' There's a city, but you have to decide in two minutes. You have to give them an answer back, and just like 180-200 seconds, you have to decide where you're going to go, because those teams, they don't have time for ... they may pursue somebody else."
Chara signed with Boston and what a choice it was.
Zdeno Chara will be inducted into Hall of Fame on Monday
Chara, who will have his number retired by the Bruins in January before a game against the Seattle Kraken, ended up playing over 1,000 games in Boston and was part of two teams that made it to the Stanley Cup Final in 2013 and 2019, only to come up short.
When he played, opponents knew it. Chara was a physical player who never shied away from a big hit. Offensively, he finished with 148 goals as a Bruin and 333 assists. His slap shot in his prime was nothing to joke about for opposing goalies. He won the hardest shot competition at the NHL All-Star Weekend. Even the radar gun was scared.
On Monday, he will take his rightful spot in the Hall of Fame in Toronto, and he'll be joined by former Bruins first-round draft pick Joe Thornton. Jumbo Joe's time in Boston was a struggle before they traded him, but he went on to have a Hall of Fame career.