To finish his career, the 45-year-old is signing a one-day contract with the Boston Bruins on Tuesday to retire in Beantown. “After 25 professional hockey seasons of 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,” Chara wrote on Instagram. “With that, I am honored to return to TD Garden today to sign a one-day contract with the Boston Bruins and officially end my career with the team that has meant so much to me and my family. There are so many people who have contributed to my success, including all of you, and I look forward to thanking everyone properly this evening.” Chara, often referred to as “Big Z”, is the tallest man to ever play in the NHL at 9 feet. Throughout his NHL career, Chara earned a reputation as one of the most feared defensemen in the league. In addition to being a dominant defensive force, Chara has been a consistent contributor on offense – reaching 40 points in nine of his seasons and scoring over 50 three times. The native of Trencin, Slovakia has played in 1,680 games, the most ever by a defenseman in the NHL, and has recorded 680 points — 209 goals and 471 assists — plus 2,085 career penalty minutes. Of his 1,680 games, 1,023 were played for the Bruins – with whom he served as captain during a 14-season tenure that began in 2006, won a Norris Trophy as the league’s best defenseman in 2009 and won a Stanley Cup in 2011. Chara is one of four European captains to lift the Stanley Cup — Nicklas Lidstrom, Alexander Ovechkin and Gabriel Landeskog are the others — and the only captain from Slovakia to do so. Chara was drafted in the third round, 56th overall, by the Islanders in 1996 and spent his first four major league seasons with the club. Traded to the Ottawa Senators in June 2001 along with Bill McCult and the No. 2 draft pick (Jason Spezza) for Alexei Yashin. He then signed as a free agent with the Bruins in July 2006. He signed a one-year deal with the Washington Capitals in December 2020 before returning to the Islanders as the oldest player in the league last season.
