Boston Bruins ink Zdeno Chara
Boston Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli continued to secure the future of his hockey team by announcing over the weekend that they have come to terms on a contract extension with
hulking defenceman Zdeno Chara. The contract is worth $45.5 million spread over seven years for an annual cap hit of $6.5 million. A few days earlier, Chiarelli also signed forward Patrice Bergeron to a three-year extension worth $15 million.
Chara, who is the captain of the Bruins, is an intimidating force on defence and holds the distinction of being the tallest player ever in the National Hockey League at 6’9. The 33-year-old
Slovak originally signed with the Bruins as a free agent in 2006-07. The new seven-year deal also includes a no-movement clause which will keep Chara in Boston until he is at least 40. Before signing with the Bruins in 2006-07, Chara played for the Ottawa
Senators where he enjoyed four impressive seasons and built up a reputation for being one of the top defenders in the NHL
In 2008-09, his third season in Boston, Chara set a career high with 19 goals. He also tallied 50 points and had a plus-23 rating, which helped him win the James Norris Memorial Trophy
as the NHL’s best defenceman.
Chara was originally drafted by the New York Islanders at the 56th pick in the third round of the 1996 NHL Entry Draft. After spending four seasons with the Islanders, Chara
was involved in one of the more lopsided trades in NHL history after he was dealt to the Ottawa Senators in 2001 for Russian Alexei Yashin. The Senators also received the Islanders' first round draft pick that year, which turned out to be high-scoring centre
Jason Spezza with the second overall selection.
Since the 2003-04 season, Chara has recorded six straight seasons of over 40 points, making him one of the top-producing defencemen over that time. He has also been named to the NHL’s
First All-Star team twice and to the NHL’s Second All-Star team twice during that span as well.
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