Has Zdeno Chara played his final game with the Bruins?
The B’s fell to the Lightning 3-2 in double overtime on Monday night, putting an end to 43 year-old Zdeno Chara’s 14th season with the team and 22nd in the NHL.
Chara is still a decent defenseman thanks to his size, but he’s become noticeably slower in the past couple years. He signed to a one-year contract back in March of 2019, so his future is uncertain.
Here’s what the captain had to say after Monday’s loss:
“I haven’t made a decision. I obviously just finished the game and I’ll be open-minded,” Chara told reporters:
Do you think Zdeno Chara has played his final game with the Bruins? pic.twitter.com/Hr9gs0h681
— NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSBoston) September 1, 2020
Bruce Cassidy was also asked about Chara’s status, and he took that opportunity to praise Zee for helping him through the early stages of his NHL coaching career:
“I don’t want to speculate. Those are decisions that will be made by the player, management, obviously going forward,” Cassidy said. “I’ve said all along I’m grateful to have an opportunity to coach Zee. It was early in my NHL career so to speak, later in his playing career so he helped me a lot. Zee’s probably helped me more than I’ve helped him”