Zdeno Chara officially announces retirement in press conference at TD Garden

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Dorin Canaday
September 20, 2022 (3:50 PM)

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As all fans now know, long-time captain Zdeno Chara is signing a one-day contract today to retire as a Boston Bruin, just like it should be.

The organization and Chara held a press conference starting at 12 pm today at TD Garden, making the retirement official. In attendance were several current Bs players and others that have played with ''Big Z'' along the way.

Among Chara's former teammates at the press conference were the current coaching staff, Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, Brandon Carlo, Connor Clifton, Nick Foligno, Matthew Grzelcyk, Chris Wagner, Jake Debrusk, Charlie Coyle and Charlie McAvoy.

As well as Chris Kelly, Tuukka Rask, Adam McQuaid and training and equipment staff. But of course, everyone was there for the man of the hour:

Chara started off by saying:

''When I was a young boy, I never dreamed that I'd be here someday having a press conference after 25 years in the NHL. This all feels so surreal to me.''

''I have no regrets. I would not change a thing. We are in a business where we are ultimately judged by winning, and we experienced our highs and lows with that, but I walk away knowing I gave it everything I had all the time''

He also thanked former teammates such as Bergeron and Marchand for helping him build that winning culture in Boston:

''You don't win without it. It wasn't just me. It was a team effort. I would never have done it without Patrice or without Brad following Patrice's lead. We set goals. It was hard in the beginning. Not everyone wanted to change, but it was necessary.''

He discussed his reasoning for retiring and what his next plans are:

''I knew where I was [age wise]. But the main reason was to be home. I was gone away from home too much last two years.''

''It would be unfair to myself and my family [taking NHL job] ... Just really want to enjoy being with my family ... I'm just going to take some time and see how it goes''

Watch Chara's full media coverage below:

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