Zdeno Chara discusses the ‘risk’ involved in the NHL’s return
Chara is grateful for chance to play, even if restart plan is flawed.
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“For us, we have to be grateful for the opportunity we’re getting,” he said Thursday on a Zoom call with reporters.
“When you look at real life, [what] other people’s families, businesses go through, it’s one of those things we’re getting the opportunity to start almost where we ended the season. Not everybody is getting the same chance.”
Once it is prudent to compete in games, possibly by the end of July, the Bruins (44-14-12) will play in a three-game, round-robin tournament to determine the Eastern Conference’s top four playoff seeds. That means a team that had 100 points through 70 games, and led the East by 8 points, could slip to the No. 4 seed.
Chara did not seem bothered by that.
“It’s not going to be perfect,” he said. “I think you have to realize that any time you have this kind of unexpected stoppage, with teams being at different points, maybe peaks of the season, different amounts of games … you have to come up with some sort of solution.
“The people involved were almost daily talking to the player reps, players, different kinds of advisers to come up with the best possible solution. I think at this point we see it’s probably the best. It does affect everyone and every team, but it’s one of those things you can’t really blame anyone or feel that it’s unfair.”
Chara was speaking from Boston, having made the long drive from his offseason home in Sarasota, Fla., with his wife Tatiana, daughter Elliz, 11, and 4-year-old twins Ben and Zack. On March 27, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker declared that all travelers coming to the state should self-quarantine for two weeks. The NHL is likely two weeks or more from opening its practice facilities, so Chara wouldn’t likely be delayed.
“We did all the mandatory safety precautions, actions, while we were down in Florida,” Chara said. “The same apply here in Boston. We’re just following the orders.”
The league’s elder statesman at 43 said he kept fit — big surprise there — and expects a cautious yet accelerated ramp-up to game-readiness. He accepts the risk of infection that may come.
“I’m sure even without this pandemic, every time you step on the ice there is a risk of getting injured or some sort of thing can happen,” he said. “Obviously this is a little bit different. This is something that hit us really hard, and nobody … can guarantee that nothing will happen.
“There is going to be risk involved. We’ve just got to manage what kind of risk we are willing to accept.”
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