Zdeno Chara reportedly returning to Bruins as a consultant
"Zdeno recently indicated he has interest to help and be involved."
Zdeno Chara is reportedly rejoining the Bruins.
Except this time, the future Hall-of-Fame won’t be patrolling Boston’s blue line.
According to The Boston Globe’s Kevin Paul Dupont, Chara has rejoined the Bruins’ organization in a “front office consultant’s role” — with Bruins general manager Don Sweeney confirming the news to Dupont in a written release on Wednesday.
“The Boston Bruins are excited to be exploring the opportunity to welcome Zdeno Chara in an advisory role that supports our players and coaches,” Sweeney said in the statement. “We have had an open invitation and ongoing dialogue with Zdeno to return in some capacity whenever he felt it was right for both he and his family.
“Zdeno recently indicated he has interest to help and be involved. While his schedule and role are still unfolding, we believe he can make a positive impact on the organization as a mentor to our players and advisor to our coaching staff.”
Chara, 47, last played for the Bruins during the 2019-20 season, eventually hanging up his skates and announcing the end of his Hall-of-Fame career in 2022.
The imposing Bruins defenseman signed a one-day contract to retire with Boston in September 2022 — noting at the time that he wanted to take some time away from hockey before revisiting any future plans within the sport.
“I’m not just going to completely just not follow hockey or follow the Bruins especially,” Chara noted at his retirement ceremony. “I’m just going to take my time right now to really be home and see how much free time I have before I can actually commit to anything. It’d be really unfair to myself, my family, or to whatever I decide to do hockey-wise
“To commit to something without knowing I can be committed one hundred percent to that specific job or task. Just want to enjoy being with my family, my kids especially. Just want to be taking days as they come. I think if there’s opportunities or there’s something that will present in the future, there’s always going to be a chance to step in. But as of right now, I’m just kind of going to take some time and see how it goes.”
Chara has not rested since closing out his NHL career, taking part in multiple marathons and other endurance-related gauntlets in the latest challenges for his 6-foot-9 frame. Chara completed his second running of the Boston Marathon in 2024 in what marked his seventh marathon in 12 months.
It remains to be seen what Chara’s role within the organization will be moving forward.
But the Bruins could use a voice like Chara — who helped establish an accountable culture in Boston that vaulted them to a Stanley Cup in 2011.
“Without that, you can’t win,” Chara said at his retirement ceremony about building a culture in Boston. “You need to have a culture. You need to have players that want to follow, and it wasn’t just me. It was a team effort. …. We had guys stepping in willing to come from other teams and adjust to that culture. We pushed each other. We were practicing as hard as we could against each other, but we were still ok with it.
“We set goals, and slowly and surely, we were climbing and making these steps, but without the culture and without someone planting the seed and basically putting the foot down that this is how it’s going to be, yeah it was hard at the beginning. It was not probably easy, and not everybody wanted to kind of change, but it was necessary. I felt it was necessary for this organization and for this team to make a change.”
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