Chara's relentless work ethic led to 'illustrious career,' Hockey Hall of Fame

It would be easy to say that the most iconic moment of Zdeno Chara’s career was when he stood on the ice in Vancouver, beard full and smile wide, and raised the Stanley Cup in 2011. He had just led the Boston Bruins through seven grueling games against the Vancouver Canucks in one of the most entertaining Cup Finals in NHL history, and the prize was his.

But perhaps it was eight years later, as Chara neared the end of one of the more unlikely careers in NHL history, in a moment that exemplified exactly who he was, what he meant, and why, on Tuesday, he was named to the Hockey Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.

During Game 4 of the 2019 Stanley Cup Final against the St. Louis Blues, the hulking defenseman had taken a puck to the face and his availability for Game 5 was in question. He had multiple fractures in his jaw, necessitating pins to hold it in place. His diet had been reduced mostly to liquids.

And yet, there he was on the ice for the introductions at TD Garden before Game 5, a shield and jaw protector over his face, to the overwhelming cheers of the capacity crowd. He would play the remainder of the series, a devastating seven-game loss that served as the closest he would get to lifting the Cup for a second time.

It was that toughness, that defiance of conventional wisdom, that leadership, that belief that he could outwork and out-try anyone, that sheer determination that allowed Chara to succeed in the NHL beyond anything anyone else could have imagined.

“It’s so well deserved for him,” longtime Bruins teammate Patrice Bergeron said on Tuesday, moments after the announcement. “Honestly, [my wife and I] said, 'Well, there’s no surprise there.'”

Chara retired after the 2021-22 season, having played 1,680 games in the NHL, the most all-time among defensemen and the seventh-most among all players. He recorded 680 points (209 goals, 471 assists), won the Norris Trophy as the best defenseman in the NHL in 2008-09 and was a finalist for the award another five times. He had a booming slap shot, winning the hardest shot competition at the 2012 NHL All-Star Game with an attempt that was recorded at 108.8 miles per hour, the fastest in NHL history.

He was a ferocious, intimidating, shutdown defenseman who took no prisoners, a player who could score when needed, fight when needed, and keep opponents off the board nearly always.

“He’s had such an illustrious career. He’s accomplished everything, most games played for a defenseman, he’s played hard, he’s played the right way, the integrity, the hard work, the leadership, everything that he’s portrayed his whole career, it’s such a great example for anyone, really, that wants to accomplish great things and has aspirations and dreams,” Bergeron said. “I think he’s a perfect example of how to persevere and to go for it, really, and put in the hard work and all the time to really accomplish what you want to accomplish in life.”

Because, for Chara, none of that came easy. None of that was assured.

Chara, who was born in Trencin, Slovakia, when it was still part of Czechoslovakia, arrived in North America as a gangly defenseman, an awkward skater, someone who former NHL defenseman Andrew Ference looked at and said had “legitimately no shot” when he first saw him as a 19-year-old.

But he was strong and he was determined. And no one was more pleased than Ference -- who was Chara's teammate on the Bruins' 2011 Cup-winning team -- to be wrong.

Chara was selected with the No. 56 pick in the 1996 NHL Draft by the New York Islanders and would play his first four NHL seasons for them. He then played the following four seasons with the Ottawa Senators, but it wasn’t until he signed with the Bruins on July 1, 2006, that he truly found a home.

“When I came [into the NHL in 2003-04] he was already ‘Big Zee’ in Ottawa,” Bergeron said. “He was feared. He was offensively gifted. He was such an all-around defenseman that every team wanted him. Then he became a free agent just a couple years later after I came in, and obviously I was fortunate enough to have him on my side for most of ... the rest of my career.”

The 6-foot-9, 250-pound defenseman helped bring about a culture change with the Bruins, who named him their captain just three months after signing him. Teaming with Bergeron, Chara would help lead the franchise to a decade of greatness, advancing to the Stanley Cup Final three times, including in 2013, when they lost in six games to the Chicago Blackhawks.

“It was pretty special to have him,” Bergeron said. “Mind you, he made me such a better player, better person, better leader, going up against him in practice, learning from him. As a 21-year-old, that’s how old I was when he came to Boston, it was very beneficial to have him around and try to build something alongside him and the rest of the guys.”

It changed the history of the franchise.

“Huge impact,” Bergeron said. “He was obviously the foundation or the cornerstone, the person that really made the start of it, the start [of the championship in 2011]. You could see the excitement around the locker room, from the players, whether that was because we didn’t have to face him again or just the fact that he was so talented and respected.”

That respect, that ability to lead, garnered Chara the Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award in 2010-11. He was also a six-time participant in the NHL All-Star Game, was named to the NHL First All-Star Team three times (2004, 2009, 2014) and the Second All-Star Team four times (2006, 2008, 2011, 2012).

He represented Slovakia at three Olympic Games (2006, 2010, 2014), seven IIHF World Championships, and the World Cup of Hockey in 2004. He also participated in the World Cup of Hockey in 2016, when he helped Team Europe surprise everyone by winning the silver medal.

“Across his exceptional 24-year career, Zdeno put forth an unparalleled combination of size, strength, and ability each time he took the ice,” Bruins president Cam Neely said in a statement. “He kept opponents on notice with his commanding physicality and set the tone for his teammates with a stout defensive acumen, all while having the power at any given time to unleash one of the hardest shots ever recorded.

“His legendary leadership qualities were also continually on display, particularly when it came to his renowned off-ice conditioning, which set a standard for all our players to follow. To put it simply, Zdeno’s skill set stands among the most unique in the century-plus history of the National Hockey League, making him enormously worthy of enshrinement into the Hockey Hall of Fame where he will be remembered forever as one of the very best to play our sport.”

It has all continued in his post-playing career, which he has devoted to competing in Ironman races and marathons, which, as Bergeron said, “Oh my god, it speaks volumes for the person that he is.”

Nearly 30 years after he was drafted, nearly 30 years after few believed that the extremely tall third-round pick would amount to much, Chara has cemented his legacy. He was a player who made himself what he became, who used his strength and his will and his work ethic to fashion a career that will go down among the all-time greats.

“Zee is a superb human being in so many ways,” longtime Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs said in a statement. “Not only in size and skill, but also in his thoughtfulness and the respect he commands. It’s no surprise that he was selected in his first year of eligibility, because he’s truly special. The Bruins were fortunate to get him and raise the Cup with him.”