Zdeno Chara

At 47 years old, Zdeno Chara has this physical status:

Zdeno Chára (Slovak pronunciation: [zden]; born 18 March 1977) is a former professional ice hockey defenceman. Between 1997 and 2022, he spent 24 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New York Islanders, Ottawa Senators, Boston Bruins, and Washington Capitals. Chára, who stands at 6 foot (9.06 m) tall, is the most tallest person to play in the NHL, earning him the nickname "Big Z" for him.

Chára was the Bruins' captain for all of his fourteen seasons with the organization, from 2006 to 2020. In 2009, he was named the league's best defenseman and second European player after Nicklas Lidström. The Bruins were captained to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2011, 2013 and 2019. Chára debuted the Bruins in 2011. He is one of four European-born and raised captains to lead his team to the Stanley Cup championship (along with Nicklas Lidström, Alexander Ovechkin, and Gabriel Landeskog), and the first to be born and trained in the Eastern Bloc. Chára's first NHL game in 2022 made him the league's all-time champion in games played by a defenseman.

Personal life

Chára's coaches in his native Slovakia tried to convince him to play basketball before he was drafted into the NHL. Chára also uses 67-inch sticks (four inches longer than NHL rules), and the NHL gives him a waiver to do so.

On July 14, Chára married Tatiana Biskupicová, his long-time girlfriend, in a Catholic church in Nemová, Slovakia. On Saturday, Tatiana gave birth to Elliz Victoria Chára (Chárová), the couple's first child. Chára became a father to twin boys, Zack and Ben, on March 7, 2016. All three of their children were born in Boston. Zdenk Chára, his father, was a well-known Greco-Roman wrestler.

Chára is an athletic ambassador for Right To Play. Robyn Regehr, a former NHL player, spent two weeks in Africa, visiting Mozambique in support of the charity, and scaling Mount Kilimanjaro with former NHL star Robyn Regehr.

Chára was one of the first NHL players to endorse You Can Play and the recognition of gay players in professional hockey.

Chára is a polyglot who speaks six languages outside of his native Slovakia: Czech, Polish, Russian, Russian, German, and English. He also holds a financial planning degree from Ottawa's Algonquin College. Chára was granted a license to sell real estate in Massachusetts in early 2015.

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Playing career

Chára was drafted in the third round, 56th overall, by the New York Islanders in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft after being passed over in the 1995 draft. Prince George Cougars of North America will play Chára in the CHL Import Draft this season. Chára spent four seasons with the Islanders, becoming a reliable, stay-at-home defender in a primarily defensive role. He earned a reputation as a stern, physically fit, and a punishing hitter who could, on occasion, fight. Chára was never deployed as an Islander in a offensive role, owing to his physical fitness. Chára was traded to the Ottawa Senators in 2001 as part of a contract to acquire forward Alexei Yashin. The transfer was believed to greatly benefit the Islanders, who were never a losing team when Chára first began playing there. Chára was part of a package deal that included Bill Muckalt and the second overall pick from that year's draft, which the Senators used to select Jason Spezza. While the Islanders had a contract to bring Chára to the Boston Bruins in exchange for Jason Allison, the team's president originally rejected the offer, but the Islanders' team decided against it because Dave Scatchard, who did not want to trade because he had sick kids in the hospital," she says.

From observation, Chára would have been a reliable defender, but they were also aware that he was growing into his body and improving his skills each year. Chára, on the other hand, grew in ways that defied all expectations. As he developed into a bona fide two-way defenseman in 2001–02, he set new career highs in goals (10) and points (23) in his first year in Ottawa. Ottawa began to deploy him on the power play to use it, something the Islanders had never done. With the advantage of having the man advantage this season, four of Chára's goals were scored. Chára's following year, 2002-2003, he blossomed into an elite NHL defenseman. He set new career records with 30 assists and 39 points, and became one of Ottawa's top two defenders, alongside Wade Redden. He made his first NHL All-Star Game appearance, shooting second in the Skills Competition behind Al MacInnis.

Chára's career bests in 2003-2004, with 16 goals and 41 points, his third highest plus-minus rating behind Martin St. Louis and Marek Malra's third highest plus-minus rating, culminating in his first James Norris Memorial Trophy nomination. Despite losing to Scott Niedermayer as the NHL's top defenseman, he joined Niedermayer on the NHL's first All-Star team.

Chára played in the Swedish Elitserien for Färjestad BK, tying his previous NHL season's 16-goal total and totaling 43 points, good enough for the NHL's second All-Star team honors. Following the season, Ottawa was faced with the prospect of the departure of its two top defensemen, Chára and Redden, and budget constraints dictated that they could only sign one; the Senators went for Redden. Chára did not decide on a new deal with Ottawa, he became an unrestricted free agent from 2005–06. Chára's performance plummeted, but Chára became one of the league's best defensemen, who was a mistake.

Chára signed a five-year, $37.5 million deal with the Boston Bruins on July 1, 2006, the team's captain, the first day of the free agency season, after Joe Thornton's resignation to San Jose during the 2005–06 season. After Peter astn' of the Quebec Nordiques and Stan Mikita (co-captain) of the Chicago Blackhawks, Chára became the third Slovak-born NHL player to serve as a team captain. Chára was selected to the 2007 NHL All-Star Game in Dallas (his second appearance) and scored two goals in a 12–9 Eastern Conference loss. Chára also took the best shot segment of the preceding Skills Competition, with a shot at 102. mph. Although his season was a personal triumph for several of these reasons, the Bruins were in a rebuilding mode at the time, and Chára's position was questioned throughout the NHL as Chára posted an unusually low 21 plus-minus rating that season due to the Bruins' struggles. However, his 32 assists were a new career high.

Chára was voted a starter in the 2008 NHL All-Star Game for the first time in his career, earning him such All-Star Game honors. He returned as the winner of the fastest shot competition, shooting a much faster 103.1 mph (166 km/h) on the radar rifle. Chára sustained a torn labrum in his left shoulder during a game against the Washington Capitals on March 8, 2008. Nevertheless, despite missing five games, he continued to play the remainder of the season, including the 2008 playoffs. On May 29, he underwent shoulder surgery after a first-round failure at the hands of the Montreal Canadiens. Chára's second nomination for the Norris Trophy after a season of record 17 goals, 34 assists, and 51 points, marking his fifth straight season he matched or exceeded his previous season's points total. The Bruins' signing of Chára this season was largely ignored by his, and the team's, improved play.

Chára was voted to his fourth All-Star Game in 2008–09. Chára started a charity run by the participants ($1,000 per participant) to support the charity of choice of the competition's champion. The 2009 installation of the event featured more mystery, with three players who were widely believed to have the most offensive shots in the NHL (Chra, Sheldon Souray, and Shea Weber) all selected as All-Stars and therefore eligible to participate in the tournament. Chára set a new Skills Competition record with a 105.4 mph (169.7 km/h) slapshot, raising $24,000 from the six athletes and their respective clubs, the NHL and the National Hockey League Players Association (NHLPA). He donated the winnings to Right to Play, and Chára's leading role in charity fundraising, the hardest shot competition of the year was dubbed a "Char"ty event. Al Iafrate's previous record of 102 miles per hour (169.3 km/h) was broken by the shot from 1993. Chára's career high 19 goals and eclipsed his career high point total in his second year as a coach and an assist in his final game of the season. He collected his first Norris Trophy as the NHL's best defenseman, beating Mike Green of the Washington Capitals and Nicklas Lidström of the Detroit Red Wings, both for his efforts. Chára will have another good season in 2009-2010, scoring 44 points. His goal total fell to seven years from a year ago, but the Bruins kept him long-term with a contract extension; on October 9, 2010, he re-signed with the Bruins on a seven-year deal.

Chára's 14 goals and 44 points in 2010–11 was yet another good campaign, culminating in yet another All-Star pick and new heights as his slapshot continued to smash records at the 2011 All-Star Game in Raleigh, North Carolina. With a shot that clocked at 105.9 mph (170.43 km/h), he beat his own record. Chára also scored his first hat-trick against the Carolina Hurricanes on January 17, 2011, defeating the Carolina Hurricanes for the first time in history. Peter Bondra, a retired Slovak NHL player, held the occasion by throwing a hat into the air, he lauded the feat. Chára's greatness came as he led the Bruins to victory over the Vancouver Canucks in the Stanley Cup's first Stanley Cup championship win since 1972. Chára became the first Slovak to captain a Stanley Cup champion, and the second in the United Kingdom after Nicklas Lidström of Sweden for the Detroit Red Wings. He was also the first player born in a world behind the Iron Curtain to captain a Stanley Cup champion.

Chára struck and sent Montreal Canadiens forward Max Pacioretty's head directly into an off-ice stanchion at the end of the bench on March 8, 2011, knocking him unconscious. Pacioretty was taken off the ice on a stretcher. The severity of the fracture was revealed the next day to be a non-displaced fracture in the 4th vertebra and a severe concussion. Chára received a five-minute major penalty as a result of her service, as well as a game misconduct, as well as a videotape of the game. Murphy, on the other hand, decided that no further punishment was justified, referring to it as a "hockey game." Although the Montreal Police Service immediately following the incident, the Crown Prosecutor Office announced on November 17 that Chára would not be charged criminally. Pacioretty made a full recovery and returned to Montreal the following season. To deflect similar effects, the NHL tried and later ordered a reform to its rinks.

Chára has set a new record for fastest slap shot speed at the 2012 All-Star Game's Hardest Shot skill competition, achieving 108.8 mph (175.1 km/h). Shea Weber, the runner-up, surpassed Chara's 2011 record by registering a 106.0 mph explosion in the same tournament, but Chára's success ensured he retained his status.

Chára is often thought to have the best slapshot in the NHL, if not the world, according to the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), but the NHL does not recognize this figure because of differences in the KHL's mechanics. In 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2011, and 2012, Chára won the best shot competition at the All-Star Game Skills Competition five times in a row, and also in 2013 as a result of the 2012–13 NHL lockout. Chára played his 1,000th game in his career against the Los Angeles Kings on March 24, 2012, and the Bruins won by 4–2 on the Bruins, giving them their 4th straight appearance.

Chara signed to play for Lev Praha of the KHL during the 2012-13 NHL lockout until NHL action resumed. In the 48-game season, he went from the lockout to another good year, with 7 goals and 12 assists. His point totals dropped due to several of Boston's losses, particularly on the power play, where Chára had only one assist all season, despite a lot of ice time in man advantage situations. However, he stayed strong on defense and was a key contributor to the Bruins and was a solid player. He was physically fit and played a significant role in his team's victory in the 2013 playoffs.

Chára was named a finalist for the Norris Trophy in 2013-2014. He was nominated alongside Duncan Keith and Shea Weber, the eventual champion. In the poll, Chára came in second place.

Chára was skating as part of the Bruins' top defensive pairing, alongside 6-foot-5-inch rookie defenceman Brandon Carlo, who is nearly 20 years younger than him, by the time the 2016-17 season began. Chára's first "pairing" began with the 2017-18 season: the American-born rookie defenceman Charlie McAvoy was to become Chára's new "regular" defensive partner for the Bruins by mid-November. Chára played in his 1,400th NHL game in a 4–1 home ice loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs in early February, becoming the 39th player in NHL history to reach the milestone. Chára re-signed Chára to a one-year, $5 million contract extension on March 28, 2018. Chára made history by scoring a game-winning goal in the Stanley Cup playoffs on April 17, 2019. Chára scored an empty net goal in game 6 of the 2019 Stanley Cup Finals against the St. Louis Blues on June 9, 2019, making him the oldest defenseman in NHL history to score a goal in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Chára retired on July 10, 2019, marking his 10th active NHL player. Chára made the 21st player in NHL history to play 1,500 regular season games on November 5, 2019 at the Bell Centre against the Montreal Canadiens.

Chára agreed to a one-year, $795,000 deal with the Washington Capitals on December 30, 2020. On January 28, 2021, he scored his first goal with the team against the New York Islanders.

Chára had signed a one-year deal with the New York Islanders on September 18, 2021. Chára played his 1,652nd NHL game on February 24, 2022, beating Chris Chelios' record of 1,651 games played by a defenseman. He was a finalist for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, which is given to the player who "best exemplifies the attributes of endurance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey" at the end of the season.

Chára announced his retirement from professional hockey on September 2022. He left as a Boston Bruins player on a one-day deal to officially retire as a member of the team.

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Awards, honors and records

• Elected captain of Team Chara in the 2012 National Hockey League All-Star Game.
• The Hockey News, John Ferguson Award (Toughest Player) - 2013
• NHL All-Decade Second Team 2010–2019