The news is in for Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara when it comes to how long he’ll miss due to his knee injury. Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic reports (subscription required) that the captain will be out of Boston’s lineup for the next four to six weeks. The injury occurred early in their game on Wednesday against Colorado.
That’s yet another big blow to their back end which has been decimated by injuries in the early going this season to the point where they’ve had three rookies make their NHL debuts in the last three weeks. While Chara isn’t a number one blueliner like he once was, he still can log significant minutes as he’s averaging 21:30 per night in 18 games while chipping in with four points.
The injury won’t affect Chara’s games played bonuses in his contract as he has already played enough games (ten) to qualify for his $1.25MM bonus.
With Connor Clifton up on an emergency basis, the Bruins now have a dozen defensemen up with them at the moment with half of those dealing with injuries of some sort. Of those, only John Moore and Kevan Miller appear to be somewhat close to returning.
With that in mind, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them look to add a depth defender in the days to come that could at the very least supplement their options in the minors. They have just three more defensemen on an NHL contract left in AHL Providence and of those, Cody Goloubef suffered a lower-body injury last night in their game against Lehigh Valley.
I do believe that this is Chara’s last year! The Bruins need to go out and Trade for. Number 1 defender that will be with them for years to comes
Amen
They have him, his name is McAvoy. Defense is only a concern because of injuries.
naaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah….. who do YOU suggest they trade for? Do you see lots of #1 d-men on the market? LOL asinine.
Chara will likely play in Boston for another 2 years, minimum. He’s already said he’s coming back next season, for instance.
Totally agree
Sorry for the double post. No clue why it happens, but it does anytime I post
Figure foxsports must love you.
Fact is, it’s T-I-M-E for Boston’s young d-men to return. McAvoy and Urho have been out for about a month or more now with concussions, along with Miller for a hand injury. They should be over the concussions by now, don’t know what’s keeping them at this point. Far too young to still have any lingering effects, but ALL 3 GUYS NEED to return, hope they’re just about ready. Chara is clearly an OG and one of the best NHL d-men of all time, a sure HOF player, but I don’t mind him taking his time returning from injury….. he plays too many minutes for his age as it is and has earned some time off IMO….. I’m happy to have him ready to play more refreshed for the 2nd half of the season and the playoffs etc honestly. He’s still a valuable commodity for the Bruins and an asset in the playoffs, arguably still the best d-man in the game. Boston is definitely leading the league in injuries now, we’ve had over 8 guys on the shelf so far and have had our entire defensive corps out of commission. Amazing thing is, it’s only the halfway point of November.