Washington Capitals has reached an agreement with defender Zdeno Chara on a $ 795,000 one-year contract, senior vice president and general manager Brian MacLellan announced today.
“We are extremely pleased to have Zdeno joining the Capitals organization,” said MacLellan. “We feel that your experience and leadership will strengthen our blue line and our team.”
Chara, 43, scored 14 points (5g, 9th) in 68 games with the Boston Bruins last season. The Trencin native from Slovakia recorded 3:11 penalties per game to take 11th place in the NHL and helped the Bruins achieve the third best penalty percentage last season (84.3). Chara also finished second among Bruins’ defenders in blocked shots (101).
Prior to joining Washington, Chara was the league’s oldest captain, having used the “C” for the Bruins since his first season in Boston in 2006-07. At 1.80 m tall and weighing 250 pounds, he is also the tallest player who has ever played in the NHL. Chara is entering his 23rd season on the NHL. Among active NHL players, Chara ranks first in plus / minus (+288), time on ice (37,128: 55), penalty minutes (1,956), third in games (1,553) and ninth in kicks (3,271) . He is one of six Bruins to appear in at least 1,000 games (1,023), and his 481 points (148g, 333a) are in third place among Bruins’ defenders in the history of the franchise, behind the Hall of Fame Ray Bourque (1,506) and Bobby Orr (888).
In 1,553 games in his regular career season with the Bruins, New York Islanders and Ottawa Senators – the sixth highest number of games in NHL history among defenders – Chara has 656 points (205g, 451a).
Stanley Cup champion with Boston in 2011, Chara became the second European captain to win the Stanley Cup (Nicklas Lidstrom) and the first in a country behind the Iron Curtain (Czechoslovakia). Chara recorded 70 points (18g, 52a) in 195 playoff games, the ninth highest number of playoff games by a defender in NHL history and the highest number among active defenders.
Throughout his 22-year career in the NHL, Chara has received several individual awards. He received the Norris Trophy as the best NHL defender in 2008-09, after recording his career record with 19 goals and 31 assists in 80 games with Boston. He received the Mark Messier Leadership Award in 2010-11 for his exemplary leadership on and off the ice. He was nominated for the first NHL All-Star team three times (2003-04, 2008-09, 2013-14), the second All-Star team four times (2005-06, 2007-08, 2010-11, 2011 – 12) and is six times NHL All-Star (2002-03, 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09, 2010-11, 2011-12). He has also received the Gold Disc as Slovakia’s Player of the Year three times (2008-09, 2010-11, 2011-12).
Chara represented his native country, Slovakia, in international games on several occasions, including three Olympics (2006, 2010, 2014), in which he scored a goal and five assists in 17 games. Most recently, Chara served as an alternate captain for the Europe team at the Hockey World Cup in 2016, scoring two goals in six games to help bring the team to second place for the Canadian team.
Chara was originally selected by the New York Islanders in the third round (56th overall) of the 1996 NHL draft.