NHL Official Brian Murphy Has Immense Respect For Bruins’ Zdeno Chara

Zdeno Chara has been in the NHL for a long, long time, and has earned the respect of his teammates, coaches and even opponents.

But he’s also high up on the list of the league officials.

If you pay close attention to Boston Bruins’ games, you’ll notice after each whistle, the B’s defenseman will pick up the puck and hand it over to the referee. It’s a small gesture, sure, but it certainly doesn’t go unnoticed, especially for 31-year veteran ref Brian Murphy who’s reffed over 2,000 NHL games.

“… He’s amazing,” Murphy told The Athletic’s Joe McDonald in a Q&A. “I say that to him every time he hands me the puck. I’ll always say, “You’re the best, Zee” because there is nobody else who does it (every time). The thing with him is, it doesn’t matter who the official is because he has that type of respect for every official. You can have good conversations with him, too. He has his moments when he has things to say, but you have good conversations and he has an understanding of the game, and our role in the game, and he’s a player you can talk to.”

Big Zee may be intimidating standing at 6-foot-9, but when it comes to the men in stripes, he’s just a gentle giant.

Click here to read McDonald’s full Q&A with Murphy >>>