After the departure of Aaron Ward this offseason, the Bruins' captain remains without a first-line defensive partner. The B's defensemen consist of an assortment of veterans and newcomers as well as proven young talents, all of whom are capable of pairing up with Big Z.
Being Chara's partner doesn't seem like a difficult task. He owns the hardest slapper in all the land, and at nearly seven feet on skates, he takes up a lot of ice. According to the captain, filling in Ward's void should be pretty simple.
“All I expect is hard work and to be focused and be ready to play,” Chara told the Boston Herald. “When you play games together, you talk and you really have to feed off each other. You have to communicate on the ice, and you build a trust and build a bond. Then you try to carry that game to game by playing really hard and backing up each other. It’s a long season, and sometimes, you are going to have a bad game. So you need your partner to back you up, and sometimes, it’s the other way around.”
Newcomer Derek Morris has the most experience among the corps. The free-agent signee has 13 years under his belt and has been involved in many different pairings during his days as a member of the Flames, Avalanche, Coyotes and Rangers.
“Hopefully, if I play well in camp and things go well, I would love to play with him,” Morris told the Herald. “Obviously, playing with a guy like that is the big time because he’s so solid and you can learn so much from watching and playing with him. He has that great wrist shot, and he can punch that slapper when he has time to shoot it. That’s one of the things that he does really well and that maybe some people don’t realize. He does a great job getting shots through to the net.”
Third-year Bruin Andrew Ference is coming off an injury and appears healthy enough to carry the load in 2009-10. Ference is entering his 12th NHL season and would be a safe and reliable answer to Ward's exodus.
"I’ve known Z for a long time,” said Ference, who had 16 points in 47 games last season. “I even played in juniors against him, and I spent a summer with him when he was fresh over here. The progress from then to now has been unbelievable. His work ethic is obviously strong, and he strives to that, [to be] the hardest-working one. … Sure, he’s got that ton of size, but he’s put in the work to make his game better. He’s a perfectionist that way.”
The longest-tenured Bruins defender is Mark Stuart — he of "caveman strength," according to NESN's Jack Edwards. The 6-foot-2, 213-pounder hasn't missed a regular-season game in each of the past two seasons, and such durability makes him a top candidate to play alongside Chara for years to come. What better time to start than now? Stuart finished last season at a plus-20 and added 76 penalty minutes, the second-most among B's defenders behind Chara.
“I have had the chance to play with him a little bit over the years, and he’s a great guy to play with,” Stuart said. “He takes up a lot of room out there, and he really works with you. He definitely makes you a better player. I think to a man everybody on this D wants to play with him.”
