The Boston Bruins were atop the NHL standings when the world of sports came to an abrupt halt.
The NBA was first to suspend its season indefinitely March 11 when Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19. The NHL paused the remainder of its 2019-20 campaign one day later.
At the time of the pause, the B’s had just picked up their 100th point and were looking to lock up the Atlantic Division with David Pastrnak just two goals away from the coveted 50-goal mark.
But now Chara is just like the rest of us: waiting for the season to resume, if it does at all.
During a Zoom conference call held Monday, the Bruins captain admitted to these being “strange times.”
“It is obviously one of those situations that you can’t really control. Right now we all have to look after each other and look after our families,” Chara said, per NBC Sports Boston’s Joe Haggerty. “I know it’s kind of a cliché answer in these days, but hockey is really secondary. If you have to look at it that way then, yeah, it’s kind of hard to look at the pause on the league at the stage where we were at.
“… These are strange times. There are challenges we’re all facing right now. Most of us are away from the things we love to do,” he added. “The things we don’t have to work, to play and to entertain people. Hopefully we get through this. A huge, big thank you has to go to the medical professionals, the people that are volunteering and the people that are delivering food,” Chara said.
“It just takes time. We have to stay patient, and safe, and disciplined. There is no other way to do it, but to do it together.”
There’s no timeline for the world of sports to resume as healthcare professionals work to get the pandemic under control.
