Zdeno Chara

Zdeno Chara to become the 13th player in NHL history to play 1,600 games

Coming into this season, Zdeno Chara was unsure if he was going to play. Fast forward a few months later, Chara, now at age 44, is the oldest active player in the league and about to hit a milestone that only 12 other players in NHL history have been able to reach previously.

Saturday night, Chara, one of the fiercest competitiors of this generation, will become the 13th player in NHL history to play in 1,600 games. And he will do so against the team that originally drafted him in the third round of the 1996 Draft: the New York Islanders.

If Chara plays in every game down the stretch, he will finish the 2020-21 season (and possibly his career) with 1,608 games played.

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By Ian Oland 2 years ago

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Zdeno Chara’s so intimidating during games that former teammate David Pastrnak was too scared to talk to him

Zdeno Chara’s intensity during games is legendary. Recently, the Boston Bruins, whom Chara spent the previous 14 years with as the team’s captain, experienced that first hand.

Chara went after Brad Marchand after the pest took some liberties with Capitals players after a whistle.

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By Ian Oland 2 years ago

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Justin Schultz misses practice with lower-body injury, Michael Raffl takes ice for the first time as a Capital

The Washington Capitals took to the ice at MCI on Tuesday for the first time since a bruising back-to-back series over the weekend which saw the team split their games against the Philadelphia Flyers (6-3 win) and the Boston Bruins (6-3 loss).

The Capitals were without one of their top-four defenseman, Justin Schultz, who is out day-to-day with a lower-body injury. However, forward Michael Raffl participated in a skate for the first time since being acquired by the Capitals in a trade deadline deal last Monday.

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By Ian Oland 2 years ago

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Zdeno Chara blocked three shots and batted away a would-be Flyers goal on the same PK shift. ‘The boys were going nuts on the bench.’

Zdeno Chara is 44-years-old, a future Hockey Hall of Famer, and a veteran of the thirteenth most games in NHL history (1,598). Zee’s seen it all and done it all. But that doesn’t mean the middle-aged defenseman won’t put his body on the line in a regular-season game like a wagon.

Saturday, during a pivotal second-period Flyers’ power play, Chara blocked three different shots and stopped a would-be Flyers goal by knocking it out of mid-air. The Capitals would go into the second intermission with a 4-2 lead and hold on to win 6-3.

“The boys were going nuts on the bench,” TJ Oshie said after the game. “We were hitting the boards for the rest of the period and a lot of guys gave him a tap on the be-hind once the period ended.”

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By Ian Oland 2 years ago

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Current and former Capitals teammates say really nice things about Nicklas Backstrom

The Washington Capitals went all out to celebrate Nicklas Backstrom’s 1,000th NHL game on Thursday.

The team formed a stick tunnel for Backstrom to skate out to, players wore number 19 jerseys during warmups, and the organization held a pregame ceremony which included a touching tribute video.

The Capitals also debuted a splash page on their website dedicated to all things N1KY, including 20 sweet video messages from Nicky’s past and former teammates and coaches.

We transcribed them all and also dug out a few more tributes from social media.

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By Elizabeth Kong and Ian Oland 2 years ago

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Zdeno Chara and Matt Martin have gentlemanly fight at buzzer as Capitals-Islanders game nearly descends into brawl

The New York Islanders throttled the Washington Capitals 8-4 at Nassau Coliseum Thursday night and it ended with fireworks.

At the buzzer, there was a gentlemanly throwdown between two of the teams’ leaders, Zdeno Chara and Matt Martin.

The fight led to an awkward showdown between both teams at center ice that thankfully didn’t materalize into a brawl.

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By Ian Oland 2 years ago

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‘Big strong’ Zdeno Chara turned 44 today. Here are some nice things the Capitals have said about him this season.

Washington Capitals defenseman Zdeno Chara turned 44 years young on Thursday.

Chara, playing in his 23rd season, now joins Chris Chelios, Doug Harvey, and Tim Horton as the only defensemen in NHL history to play in the league at that age or older.

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By Ian Oland 2 years ago

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Zdeno Chara’s first Washington Capitals bobblehead

Big Zee has a big new piece of merch available.

Friday, FOCO released a bobblehead featuring Zdeno Chara. It’s Chara’s first bobblehead as a member of the Washington Capitals.

The Chara bobblehead is available for preorder now and will ship in mid June. Only 333 are available.

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By Ian Oland 2 years ago

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Zdeno Chara tears up while watching tribute video from Boston Bruins

On Wednesday, Zdeno Chara played in Boston for the first time since leaving the Bruins after 14 seasons.

Though the stands were empty, the Bruins welcomed Big Zee back a moving, crowdsourced tribute video.

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By Ian Oland 2 years ago

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Zdeno Chara reunites with family in Boston for first time since signing with Capitals: ‘It was good to be a dad’

Zdeno Chara will make his long-awaited return to TD Garden tonight for the first time since signing with the Capitals as an unrestricted free agent in late December.

Chara singular played in over 1,000 games for Boston. The city was his home for 14 out of his 24 total seasons in the NHL. While a Bruin, Chara won the Mark Messier Leadership Award, the James Norris Memorial Trophy, but most memorably he brought the Stanley Cup to Boston in 2011.

Although there won’t be fans in the arena to give Chara a standing ovation, he still feels their support.

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By Eliza Kravitz 2 years ago

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