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It was not the way the proud 43-year-old Chara preferred his career to end. He still believes he can be a vital contributor, able to record somewhere around the 21 minutes per game he averaged with the Bruins last season, and perhaps help the Capitals to their second Stanley Cup title in four seasons. .
“For me, I felt it would be better for me if I find a better role with another team,” added Chara, who repeatedly noted her respect for the Bruins’ decision, “and stepped aside and let the Boston Bruins go in. the direction they chose to do. “
So there we have it. The Bruins saw Big Z as an extra, a deep defender, a pending participle, while he still believes he can provide valuable and heavy minutes for a legitimate Cup contender.
Who’s Right Check out this space when the playoffs start in mid-May, if not earlier.
The bet here is that the Bruins have made a costly miscalculation, first underestimating Big Z’s current worth, heads up with overestimating his ability to fill in the blanks left in his game. At this time, there is not a single obvious candidate left to adequately fill Chara’s place on left defense in the No. 1 closing, setting aside Charlie McAvoy for the Jan. 14 season opener.
Maybe it’s Jakub Zboril. Or maybe Jeremy Lauzon. Or Urho Vaakanainen. Combined NHL games for that trio: 44. With the Capitals, Chara’s first game will be number 1,554 of his career. It is a place where experience matters.
“Nothing is guaranteed in Washington,” Chara said, when asked what role awaited him there.
But what’s guaranteed is Peter Laviolette, the newly hired Capitals coach, will enter the season with Chara as a regular for five-on-five and on penalty. Unless proven unworthy, Chara will re-score about 20 minutes of ice per night and offer Laviolette a great comfort blanket for the rear of each game.
Money was not the problem. The Bruins could have kept Chara on the payroll for a pittance, a cheap insurance policy in a short season that will last no more than 177 days, from the league’s record crash Jan. 13 to a possible Game 7 of the Cup Final on July 9.
As a group, defenders have always been the most stressed in the playoffs and often the hardest to replace. Think of McAvoy making his debut for the Bruins during the playoffs in 2017, when new coach Bruce Cassidy was forced to repair his injured D-body with guys like Bobby Pins and Elmer Glue. The postseason came to an abrupt end in Game 6 against the Senators.
According to agent Matt Keator, more than 20 NHL teams called to inquire about Chara’s services. In the end, a handful of those clubs made offers, he said, including two that offered deals for more than a year.
“All things considered, Washington made the most sense,” Keator said. “They are in a win mode now.”
Potential suitors, Keator noted, valued that Chara ranked fifth in the league for a short time on ice and fifth among all NHL defenders with a rating of plus 26. All with his average time of 21:01 in ice.
Chara, the oldest player in the NHL, will turn 44 in March. It has its flaws, especially its lack of speed and agility. He was never this agile, and therefore not about to become a late defender of puck-carrying and give-and-take.
In NHL 2021, he is a tight fit, now working within increasingly strict margins, in a game that goes crazy for speed. But you can serve the death penalty, be a member of the No. 1 lockdown unit, and provide critical guidance for defenders in training. Namely: Z’s work in the last three seasons preparing partners Brandon Carlo and McAvoy. They both entered as freshmen and quickly advanced to the playtime level of the PhD course. Well, the teacher just left the classroom.
“We’ll do it by committee and allow some of these guys a little trial and error and possibly they’ll fail as a result of it,” said general manager Don Sweeney, when asked how Chara’s minutes will be filled out. “But also being successful as a result of it and not looking over their shoulder in any way, shape or form because they have to gain that experience.
“You are not going to advance in your career if you are not in those situations. Sometimes you fall flat and other times you get up. “
If she had stayed, Chara’s ice time could have cut down valuable developmental minutes for some of the children. But that could have been effectively handled by Cassidy. The compressed schedule itself will require more players to be used, which is why larger rosters were included in the league’s return-to-play negotiations with the Players Association.
There was room here for it to work, to accommodate Chara with valuable and workable minutes, while at the same time figuring out what some newbies can bring. All with Chara there to act as an assistant player / coach.
But that’s not how Sweeney & Co. sees things, and the mini-Z scenario presented to Chara not only didn’t deliver what she expected, it didn’t live up to what she expected and demands of itself. Her inner drive and sense of self-worth told her it was time to go.
“I just felt what was presented to me and the conditions attached to it,” reflected Chara, “I just felt that I had more to offer. I respect their decisions and wish them the best, but I felt that I can still play regularly, play the games. I have no problem with them going in a different direction. I felt it for me, at this point in my career, it’s better if I continue playing.
Kevin Paul Dupont can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeKPD.
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