WASHINGTON – Longtime Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara signed with Washington Capitals on Wednesday, an impressive move less than a week before most NHL teams opened the training ground.
Chara agreed to the terms of a $ 795,000 one-year contract.
The 43-year-old defender posted on Instagram that the Bruins decided to move on with younger players. He has been the captain of Boston since 2006 and was the second European captain to win the Stanley Cup.
“We are extremely pleased to have Zdeno joining the Capitals organization,” said general manager Brian MacLellan. “We feel that his experience and leadership will strengthen our blue line and our team.”
The 1.80 meter Chara is an All-Star seven times who won the Norris Trophy as the league’s best defender in 2009. He took the Bruins to the Cup in 2011 and travels to the final in 2013 and 2019.
Chara and his team had been in negotiations with the Bruins since before the free agency opened in October. It seemed likely that the Slovakian native would return to Boston, unless he decided to retire.
Instead, he begins a new chapter by joining Alex Ovechkin, while each star tries to win the Cup a second time.