Zdeno Chara was part of the 2011 Boston Bruins team that won their first Stanley Cup in almost 40 years.
He also was part of the 2013 team that lost in the Final to the Chicago Blackhawks.
And on the 2019 team that lost to the St. Louis Blues in Game 7.
For 14 seasons, Chara captained the Bruins as the team rolled its way to success season after season with Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci under him. The Black and Gold has amassed five seasons with at least 50 wins dating back to 2007 and are coming off a historic season in which the Bruins set the record for most wins and points in a season.
But for as much success as Boston has had during that span, it also has fallen short and only has won one Stanley Cup with the core of Chara, Bergeron, Krejci and now Brad Marchand. The 2022-23 historic season came to a screeching halt in Game 7 with a first-round exit at the hands of the Florida Panthers, and it’s unclear if Bergeron and Krejci will return or if they’ll join Chara in retirement.
The Bruins also are up against the salary cap for next year, and it will be next to impossible to retain the same roster in 2023-24. And with the first-round loss after holding a 3-1 series lead, it begs the question of whether this core hasn’t lived up to its expectations.
Chara doesn’t believe it’s an underachievement and voiced his thoughts during 98.5 The Sports Hub’s “Felger & Mazz” on Tuesday afternoon.
“No, I don’t. I wouldn’t say it’s only one Cup, because there’s probably a good dozen or over a dozen teams that don’t even have that. So I mean, if you want to take it that it’s only one Cup — I mean it’s not easy to even get that far. It’s not easy to get to the Finals,” Chara said. “And we were able to do it three times and I know that we all felt that we could win every one of them. But just like I said, that’s sports. That’s life. You’re going to have to live with those losses as well.”
Despite only winning one Cup, Chara has no regrets about how things played out because of the consistency the Bruins played with over the years.
“I think that this organization has been very consistent,” he said. “You go through some ups and downs, you go through some changes whether that’s coaching or players. It’s a process. And I think that I, personally, I’m proud to be a Bruin for that long and setting a culture and establishing something that years and years hopefully from now players can carry that same torch and culture and continue something we started in ’06, and hopefully be able to be successful and win later on. But I have no regrets and I only can say that I’m very grateful and proud of what we as a team were able to accomplish.”
Chara truly helped establish a culture in the Bruins locker room when he arrived ahead of the 2006-07 NHL season and has passed that torch to Bergeron, and it’s likely to continue even after Bergeron hangs up his skates — whenever that may be.
