Why the Bruins should bring back Zdeno Chara for one last run
There's been a lot of talk about what the Boston Bruins should look to do at or ahead of the trade deadline on March 21st. Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy had stated on Saturday that he felt as though his players needed "to be more like pricks", so I think it's safe to say that they'll be looking for some players with bite.
Ben Chiarot is a player who makes a lot of sense, as he definitely plays that "prick" style of hockey that Cassidy seems to covet. But what if there was a better option available? A bigger, nastier, more experienced option. Someone like former Bruins captain, Zdeno Chara.
Lightbulb! The Bruins should swing a deal with the New York Islanders to bring back Chara. There are a multitude of reasons why it makes sense, and very few reasons why it doesn't. For starters, Chara is familiar with the system and with the players.
Chara spent 14 of the last 16 years in Boston. He has good relationships with the team, the coaching staff, the management group and he was absolutely endeared by the fans during his 14 years there. The massive Slovak registered 481 of his 673 NHL points and played 1023 of his 1649 career NHL games as a member of the Bruins. The leadership value alone would be worth it.
Has Chara lost a step at his advanced age? Sure. But even if the Bruins used him on the bottom pair or as the team's 7th defenseman, I'm sure he'd help the team more than he'd hurt them.
The big thing here is that Chara, at 44 years of age, is likely in his last NHL season. What better way to go out than in the place you should have retired anyway? And if the B's can incorporate him in another championship run, that would certainly be a feather in the cap of an already Hall-of-Fame worthy career.
I'm a big advocate of bringing Big Z back and giving him the gift of one more run where he should have retired. He helped lead the team to a Stanley Cup once, so maybe this time, the team can lead him to one and have him ride off into the sunset on a high note.
