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Zdeno Chara

Snapshots: York, Chara, Warf

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The Philadelphia Flyers will be without Cam York to open their season, as the team announced he will begin the season on injured reserve. PHLY’s Charlie O’Connor reports York “has a lower-body issue” and while the Flyers see it as a day-to-day injury, York’s ailment has kept defenseman Dennis Gilbert on their season-opening roster. Gilbert was placed on waivers on Oct. 4 and cleared, but will now avoid reassignment back to the AHL while York recovers.

Remaining on the NHL roster despite clearing waivers has a negligible effect on Gilbert’s earnings. As he’s signed to a one-way contract, he’s owed his $850K salary regardless of which level he plays at. With that said, NHL players’ earnings are subject to escrow, while AHL players’ are not, meaning staying on the roster may actually (technically) cost Gilbert a marginal amount of money compared to what he would pocket if he was reassigned to the AHL. There are other factors to consider, such as pension credit received for every 20 games spent on an NHL roster and the additional practice time he’ll have to impress NHL coaches, that make this a valuable opportunity for Gilbert, even if it does come at the unfortunate cost of a day-to-day injury to York.

Some other notes from around the NHL:

  • The Boston Bruins announced today that former captain and Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman Zdeno Chara will see his number retired and raised to the rafters of TD Garden this season. Chara ranks third all-time in scoring by a Bruins defenseman, behind only legendary blueliners Bobby Orr and Ray Bourque. “Big Z” won the Norris Trophy in 2008-09 and also played for the New York Islanders, Ottawa Senators, and Washington Capitals across his 1,680-game NHL career.
  • The Carolina Hurricanes announced today that team president Doug Warf has resigned after a little over one year in his position. Warf, who oversaw all business operations for the Hurricanes and their arena, Lenovo Center, was officially announced as the team’s president in July of last year. Warf re-joined the Hurricanes in that post after previously working for the team from 2000-2017, according to the team’s press release. Regarding the news, The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta reported that Warf’s resignation can be traced to “a difference in alignment” between himself and team owner Tom Dundon.

Bruins Hire Zdeno Chara As Hockey Operations Advisor

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The Bruins are bringing longtime captain Zdeno Chara back to the organization in a formal capacity, today announcing they’ve named him a hockey operations advisor and mentor. His main roles “will include building relationships and strengthening communication between players and coaches, attending practices and home games, and providing off-ice development support to defensemen,” the team said. “He will also serve as a resource for the team’s development staff and make periodic visits to connect with prospects at the AHL level.”

He’s a notable past-to-present bridge as the Boston organization continues to embark on a retool, particularly as first-time head coach Marco Sturm takes the reins. Chara hasn’t played for the club since 2020, departing in free agency to spend his final two NHL seasons with the Capitals and Islanders, but he served as the club’s captain and leader on the blue line for all of his 1,023 games after landing there in free agency in 2006.

Being a hockey ops advisor, Chara will report to general manager Don Sweeney. He’ll essentially serve a tier below assistant GMs Evan Gold and Jamie Langenbrunner, although if he’s open to it, a promotion to be on par with them shouldn’t be too far off.

He’s the second longtime Bruins defenseman to transition into a front office role with the club this month. They also recently promoted Adam McQuaid, who played with Chara for most of the 2010s, to their director of player development.

Chara’s 1,023 games as a Bruin rank third in franchise history among rearguards, trailing Sweeney’s 1,052 and Ray Bourque’s 1,518. His 1,680 total games played, including stops in New York, Ottawa, and Washington, make him the league’s all-time games played leader among defenders. He was a first-ballot Hall of Famer in this year’s class, but the Bruins haven’t yet retired his No. 33 jersey.

Hockey Hall Of Fame Announces 2025 Class

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The Hockey Hall of Fame has officially announced its 2025 class in a series of X posts. The former NHL players headlining the class in their first year of eligibility are Zdeno Chára, Duncan Keith, and Joe Thornton, while Alexander Mogilny has finally been inducted after a decades-long wait.

The full class of new Hall of Famers, including women’s players and builders, is as follows:

Chára: A seven-time All-Star who captained the Bruins to the Stanley Cup in 2011, the 6’9″ defenseman was also a six-time Norris Trophy finalist and won the award in 2009. Known more for his two-way prowess than his pure offense or shutdown ability, he was a top-four threat well into his 40s and sits seventh on the all-time leaderboard with 1,680 regular-season appearances, passing Chris Chelios for most among defensemen in his final season with the Islanders three years ago. He’s already in the IIHF Hall of Fame and helped his native Slovakia to silver medals at the 2000 and 2012 World Championships. (X link)

Keith: Like Chára, Keith was one of the most dominating two-way defenders of the salary cap era. While he doesn’t have the career length or end-to-end consistency Chára boasted, Keith’s peaks were higher, particularly offensively, and he was the Blackhawks’ undisputed top defender on their Stanley Cup wins in 2010, 2013, and 2015. He played 17 NHL seasons, the first 16 of which came in a Chicago uniform. He averaged over 23 minutes per game in all of those seasons and was a two-time Norris finalist, winning it on both occasions in 2010 and 2014. He fell short of breaking Doug Wilson’s record for all-time points by a Blackhawks defender but ranks second with 625 in 1,192 games. It’s worth noting his 421 even-strength points are more than Wilson’s 408, though. (X link)

Thornton: One of the best playmakers of all time, he’s the only men’s player in the class to not win a Cup and is arguably the best player of all time with that dubious distinction. It won’t stop him from being a first-ballot Hall of Famer, though. The four-time All-Star led the league in assists for three straight seasons coming out of the 2004-05 lockout and won the league scoring title in 2005-06, recording 96 assists in 125 points in a season that involved one of the most consequential trades in league history, sending Thornton from Boston to San Jose. Thornton remained with the Sharks in 2020 before ending his career on a pair of one-year deals with the Maple Leafs and Panthers. He ranks sixth in league history with 1,714 games played, seventh in assists (1,190), and 14th in points (1,539). Thornton’s 96 assists were the most in a single season in the salary cap era until Nikita Kucherov and Connor McDavid each hit the century mark in 2023-24. (X link)

Mogilny: Mogilny, one of the game’s true trailblazers, finally gets the call to the Hall in his 17th year of eligibility. The boxcar case was always pretty strong: a two-time All-Star, a Stanley Cup with the Devils in 2001, and 1,032 career points in only 990 games cemented him as one of the top scorers of the 1990s and early 2000s. Yet, Mogilny’s off-ice impact led to the most puzzlement about his frequent omission from the HHOF classes. He was the first player to defect from the Soviet Union and join the NHL successfully, joining the Sabres as a 20-year-old for the 1989-90 season. Aside from the NHL-run 1996 World Cup of Hockey, he never represented Russia internationally after doing so. Nonetheless, he won Olympic and World Championship gold medals as a teenager and is thus one of seven Russian members of the Triple Gold Club. He now serves as the president of Amur Khabarovsk of the Kontinental Hockey League. (X link)

Jennifer Botterill: One of the most decorated Canadian women’s players of all time, Botterill retired in 2011 before professional women’s hockey truly took off. Nonetheless, she won five World Championship gold medals (1999, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2007) and was a two-time MVP at the tournament. She also helped Canada to Olympic gold in 2002, 2006, and 2010, posting a 4-11–15 scoring line in 21 games there. She also recorded 340 points in just 113 games during her four-year NCAA career at Harvard. (X link)

Brianna Decker: Decker, 34, is one of the few women’s players to get in on her first year of eligibility. She retired in 2022 after representing the United States at the Olympics for the third time, winning gold there back in 2018. She also won six World Championships (2011, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019) and won an Isobel Cup championship with the Boston Pride of the National Women’s Hockey League in 2016. She scored 60 points in 33 NWHL games over two seasons and also added 58 points in 35 games in the CWHL. (X link)

Jack Parker: Already in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder, the 80-year-old Parker now gets the call to the Hall 12 years after his retirement. He’s one of the winningest coaches in NCAA history, serving as Boston University’s head coach from 1973-74 all the way until his retirement – a 40-year run. He was a seven-time Hockey East champion with the Terriers and won NCAA Coach of the Year honors in 1975, 1978, and 2009. (X link)

Danièle Sauvageau: Sauvageau makes history as the first woman to be inducted into the HHOF as a builder. She was also the first woman to coach in the QMJHL when she was named an assistant with the Montreal Rocket for the 1999-00 season. She currently serves as the GM of the PWHL’s Montreal Victoire and coached Canada to a gold medal at the 2002 Winter Olympics. (X link)

Image courtesy of Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports.

Henrik Lundqvist, Zdeno Chára, Frans Nielsen Elected To IIHF Hall Of Fame

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Before yesterday’s gold medal game between Team Switzerland and Team USA for the 2025 IIHF World Championships, the international hockey administration inducted its 2025 Hall of Fame class. As announced by the Federation, Kai Hietarinta (Finland), Kim Martin Hasson (Sweden), and Vicky Sunohara (Canada) were all inducted, as were NHL veterans Zdeno Chára (Slovakia), Henrik Lundqvist (Sweden), Frans Nielsen (Denmark), and David Výborný (Czechia).

There’s a case in which Lundqvist is one of the most accomplished international netminders of all time, making his induction one of the easiest to pick. Lundqvist won a bronze medal in the U18 World Junior Championship, two silver medals in the World Championship, one Olympic silver medal, one gold medal in the World Championship, and a gold medal from the 2006 Olympic Games.

Throughout three Olympic Games, Lundqvist compiled a 12-3-0 record with a .926 SV% and 1.80 GAA, along with four shutouts. In the World Championships, six of which he’s been a part of, Lundqvist managed a 22-7-2 record with a .911 SV% and three shutouts.

Chara hasn’t accrued as many medals as Lundqvist, but his longevity was unmatched. Chara particpated in three Olympic Games, scoring one goal and six points in 17 games while being Team Slovakia’s captain in 2010 and 2014. In the World Championships, Chara scored eight goals and 14 points in 55 games over seven tournaments, helping Slovakia to their only silver medals in 2000 and 2012. The longtime captain for the Boston Bruins also captained Team Slovakia at the World Championships in 2012 and 2014.

Lastly, Nielsen’s Hall of Fame resume is highlighted by being the first NHL player native to Denmark. Despite participating in nine World Championship tournaments, scoring 11 goals and 26 points in 58 games, the crowning jewel to Nielsen’s international career came in 2022. Nielsen helped Denmark qualify for the Olympic Games for the first time in history, scoring two goals and one assist in five contests.

Snapshots: Evans, Ersson, Nichushkin, Utah, Chara

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The Canadiens were believed to have been offered a mid-second-round pick back at the draft for center Jake Evans, reports Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli.  He adds that the Capitals may have been the team making the offer.  Evans is in the middle of what is likely to be a career year as he has 11 goals and 14 assists in 50 games while being the league leader for shorthanded ice time by a forward.  A pending unrestricted free agent, Evans has a very affordable $1.7MM cap charge this season and could plausibly double that on the open market this summer.  Montreal will have to decide if it’s worth accepting what’s likely to be a similar offer by the March 7th trade deadline or trying to sign him to a contract extension in the coming weeks.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • The Flyers announced that goaltender Samuel Ersson has officially been added to Sweden’s entry for the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off. He’ll take the place of injured netminder Jacob Markstrom.  Ersson has a 2.77 GAA and a .893 SV% in 27 appearances this season while picking up 15 of Philadelphia’s 23 wins.  As things stand, he’s likely to serve as Sweden’s third-string option for the tournament.
  • It appears that Avalanche winger Valeri Nichushkin will be out until after the 4 Nations Face-Off, relays Evan Rawal of the Denver Gazette (Twitter link). The 29-year-old has yet to play in 2025 due to a lower-body injury.  It looked like he was close to returning earlier this month but ultimately suffered a setback, changing his designation to week-to-week.  When available, Nichushkin has done well, tallying 11 goals and six assists in 21 games but Colorado won’t have him in the lineup for a while yet.
  • The Utah Hockey Club announced that they are no longer pursuing some of their preferred team names following the trademark issues that were revealed last week. The team will now run another voting campaign with only three names on the ballot – their current moniker, Mammoth, and Wasatch.  This round of voting will occur in-arena during Utah’s next four home games, beginning with tonight’s.
  • Bruins GM Don Sweeney confirmed to Kevin Paul Dupont of The Boston Globe that they are in discussions about bringing back long-time blueliner Zdeno Chara in an advisory role. Chara spent 14 years with Boston, playing over 1,000 games with the franchise while winning the Norris Trophy back in 2009.  Sweeney added that the role, the specifics of which are still being discussed, would likely have him working with both the players and the coaching staff.

Zdeno Chara Signs One-Day Contract With Boston Bruins; Announces Retirement

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One of the most legendary players in NHL history has officially called it quits today. Zdeno Chara has announced that he will be retiring from professional hockey, signing a one-day contract this afternoon with the Boston Bruins to do it as a member of the team he is connected to most.

In a post on Instagram, “Big Zee” released the following:

After 25 seasons of professional hockey 1,680 NHL regular season games, 200 Stanley Cup Playoff games, and hundreds of international games I am proud to announce my decision to retire from the National Hockey League. In doing so, I am honored to return to TD Garden today to sign a one-day contract with the Boston Bruins and officially finish my career with the team that has meant so much to me and my family.

There are so many people that have helped contribute to my success, including all of you, and I look forward to properly thanking everyone this afternoon.

Starting his career with the New York Islanders back in 1997 after being selected in the third round, Chara would eventually find his way to the Ottawa Senators where he became a true star. After four years patrolling the blueline of Canada’s capital, he would join the Boston Bruins where he would spend the next 14 seasons and 1,023 games.

In total, his 1,680 regular season games put him seventh all-time in NHL history, first among defensemen. Even as he entered his mid-forties, he was still playing regularly for the Washington Capitals and, finally, the Islanders once again, as a bookend for his career.

The winner of the 2009 Norris Trophy, and a finalist on five other occasions, Chara should not have to wait long to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. He got close to the Stanley Cup several times, but only lifted it once, in 2011 with the Bruins.

There are few players that have ever been more imposing, more dominant, or more recognizable than Chara, whose 6’9″ frame will be missed by many on NHL rinks moving forward. With 209 goals, 680 points, and 2,085 penalty minutes, there was something unique about the gigantic defender.

Snapshots: Chara, O’Brien, Dach

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With training camps set to start in just a few days, we’re seeing plenty of veterans ink PTO deals.  Meanwhile, another veteran free agent, defenseman Zdeno Chara, remains undecided on whether or not to play next season, notes Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic (subscription link).  The 45-year-old spent last season with the Islanders where he averaged nearly 19 minutes a night in 72 games but was not offered a deal to return.  Chara’s agent Matt Keator indicated that he plans to meet with his client this weekend so perhaps some news on his intentions for 2022-23 will trickle out over the coming days.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • Flyers prospect Jay O’Brien has fully recovered from the hip injury that has bothered him for the last two seasons, relays Matt Porter of the Boston Globe. The 22-year-old was the 19th overall pick back in 2018 and has still managed to average nearly a point per game over his two seasons at Boston College.  With those injury issues behind him, he could be in line for a big year which could help O’Brien earn his entry-level deal with Philadelphia.
  • The Blackhawks have placed prospect Colton Dach in concussion protocol, reports Scott Powers of The Athletic (Twitter link). The 19-year-old played in the first period of yesterday’s rookie tournament game against Minnesota but didn’t return for the rest of the night.  Dach is coming off an impressive season with WHL Kelowna where he had 79 points in 60 games and while he wasn’t expected to push for a roster spot with Chicago, this placement could take away any chances of seeing preseason action and perhaps delay the start of his final junior season.

Andrej Sekera Retires From NHL

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After 16 seasons, one of the best Slovak defensemen to ever lace them up is calling it a career. Andrej Sekera told a Slovak-language newspaper today that he’s stepping back from the NHL.

A 2004 third-round pick of the Buffalo Sabres, Sekera carved out a quite long, underrated NHL career with the Sabres, Carolina Hurricanes, Los Angeles Kings, Edmonton Oilers, and Dallas Stars, where he spent the last three years and 135 games of his career.

His peak season, interestingly enough, came during his only full season with Carolina, notching 11 goals and 44 points in 74 games while averaging a career-high 23:41 per game.

Sekera was one of the more overlooked pieces that helped the Edmonton Oilers return to relevancy with Connor McDavid at the helm. He was the team’s most important defensive player in the 2016-17 season that saw them make the playoffs for the first time in 11 years, but a torn ACL during the second round in 2017 really hurt his career. He never played more than 57 games in a season after that and never averaged higher than 18 minutes per game after consistently averaging 20 or more for a number of seasons prior.

Sekera retired third all-time in games played amongst Slovak defensemen, trailing the obvious (Zdeno Chara) and Lubomir Visnovsky.

Zdeno Chara To Decide On Playing Future In September

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It will take a while before we find out whether or not pending UFA defenseman Zdeno Chara will return for another NHL season.  His agent Matt Keator told Matt Porter of the Boston Globe that the veteran intends to take his time before deciding about his playing future:

He’s going to take the summer with his family and assess where he’s at physically, where his family’s at, and make a decision in September. No rush.

The 45-year-old completed his 24th NHL season in 2021-22, returning to the Islanders who originally drafted him back in 1996.  Chara played in 72 games this past season, recording 14 points while adding 125 hits and 90 blocked shots.  Notably, he logged 18:44 per game, good for fifth among New York blueliners while still taking a regular turn on the penalty kill.  All in all, it was a decent return on the $750K base salary plus $750K in performance incentives for the Islanders.

Of course, that type of role is a far cry from being the top blueliner on a team (and even the league with his Norris Trophy win in 2008-09).  At this stage of his career, Chara is more of a depth player than an impact one but could still help the right team in a limited defensive role.  He sits 20 games shy of being the seventh player in NHL history to reach 1,700 but is still 99 appearances behind Patrick Marleau’s all-time games played record so it’s not as if one more year would give him a chance at setting that new benchmark.

There’s no real risk for Chara to wait out the market and see where things stand in September.  Contracts like the one he’d be getting (likely a minimum salary with games played incentives once again) aren’t that difficult to get in the days leading up to training camp so he will have the chance to be selective to see if there’s a good fit for him.  If not, he can hang up his skates after quite an impressive career.

Carey Price Wins 2022 Masterton Trophy

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Montreal Canadiens netminder Carey Price is the recipient of the 2022 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, given “to the National Hockey League player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey, ” as voted by members of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association. Price beat out other finalists in New York Islanders defenseman Zdeno Chara and Philadelphia Flyers forward Kevin Hayes to win the award.

Price, after leading the Canadiens to the Stanley Cup Final in 2021, faced incredible amounts of adversity throughout the 2021-22 campaign. The well-respected veteran netminder waived his no-movement clause and was subsequently left unprotected by the Canadiens in the 2021 Seattle Expansion Draft, kicking off an offseason of uncertainty. He then dealt with knee and hip injuries over the offseason but was expected to only miss six to eight weeks and be ready for the start of the season. Obviously, that wasn’t the case.

Then, as Price missed camp with those injuries and a non-COVID illness, he entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program just days before the start of the season. Price returned to the team a month later, but as he recovered from the issues that caused him to enter the program, he wasn’t close to returning to game action. He continued to suffer injury setbacks throughout the season before finally returning to NHL ice on April 15 against the New York Islanders. He got his only win of the season in the team’s last game of the year, a 10-2 drubbing of the Florida Panthers.

The hockey world hopes that Price can continue to work towards full health and continue his Hall of Fame-caliber career.

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