Nothing impressed Boston Bruins fans more than the fact that Zdeno Chara was willing to put it all on the line, playing with a broken jaw in the team’s pursuit of the Stanley Cup this past season. They made sure he knew how much they appreciated him for it too.
However, Zdeno Chara is no spring chicken anymore and has looked off the pace at times, most blatantly in the first round of last season’s playoffs against a speedy Toronto Maple Leafs team.
Given that during the regular season it wasn’t unusual for him to tally ice-time of 22-plus minutes, it’s going to be tough for the Boston Bruins to scale it back without potentially offending a player that has gained legend status since joining the franchise.