By Jordan Long
The Boston Bruins are 47-17-11 for 105 points and are 2nd place in the Atlantic Division. Even though this year isn’t done, the Bruins are looking ahead to next season. Defenseman and captain Zdeno Chara agreed to a 1-year extension. This will pay him a base salary of $5 million and adds another $1.75 million with incentives. His current contract runs out at the end of the season.
Chara has been the top defenseman for the Boston Bruins. His size at 6 foot 9 inches allows him to check opponents off the puck and block shots in the defensive zone. On the offensive zone, he creates power with his slap shot to score goals and is the quarterback on the power play. In his career Chara has scored 195 goals and added 432 assists for a total of 627 points. 92 of those goals are with the man advantage.
This season Chara has played well for the Bruins with 7 goals and 16 assists for total of 23 points. He hasn’t scored a power play goal. If he fails to do so, it will be the first time since the 2001 season he didn’t score a goal on the power play.
Looking at next year, the Bruins are not breaking the bank for Chara. $5 million seems like a lot but it isn’t considering what he brings to the table. Once the season starts, Chara will be 42 and he is at the tail end of his career.
The Bruins wanted to keep him because of how valuable he is on both ends of the ice. Chara can continue to mentor Brandon Carlo and Charlie McAvoy. The Bruins have to be excited to keep him. Chara should retire as a Bruin and will be in the Hockey Hall Of Fame when he calls it quits. For now his goal is to win the Stanley Cup with this team this season and next year as well.
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