WILMINGTON, Mass. – Bruins captain Zdeno Chara has seen and experienced plenty in his 17 years in the NHL and a great deal of it has transpired since signing on with the Black and Gold ten years ago. So, while it didn’t exactly faze the 38-year-old to see his D-man partner Dougie Hamilton, longtime teammate Milan Lucic and a handful of others depart this summer, Chara admitted things will be different for the Bruins this season.
Change was pretty much inevitable when the Bruins missed the playoff cut last spring for the first time since Chara’s first season in 2006-07, and it happened quickly once Don Sweeney took control in June. The transformation continued at Bruins captain’s practice on Monday with newcomers Matt Beleskey and Zac Rinaldo in attendance at Ristuccia Arena, and mingling with established B’s players such as Chara, Dennis Seidenberg, Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak.
“It’s tough to see guys being gone, but at the same time we all knew management announced that they were going to make changes,” said Chara. “They were gonna try to improve the team. Anytime they make changes you have to go with it, and that’s the way it goes.
“[Roster changes] are part of sports, and the jobs that we have. It’s something that we’re all used to, and that come with the territory."
For the 6-foot-9 defenseman it leaves a particularly big void since Hamilton was his main defensive partner over the past couple of seasons. It will all make for an interesting storyline at camp as the coaching staff looks to find a new partner for Chara to start the season among a number of candidates. But don’t expect him to pine for Hamilton in Calgary after watching former D-partners like Johnny Boychuk and Aaron Ward eventually go away from Boston after years of success with the big man.
In fact, Chara said he doesn’t plan on doing much looking back at last season’s failure now that a new season is on the horizon. Instead, he will work on instilling the kind of consistency on the ice that was a hallmark of the B’s playoff teams from the past decad. Still, it will be a bit more challenging as he turns 39 this season (March 18).
“I don’t want to go back too much to last year. I think the most frequent word that came out of last season was inconsistency, and that’s what we have to work on,” said Chara, who finished with just eight goals and 20 points in 63 games while battling through knee and ankle woes. “We have to make sure we play with that consistency, and not experience those ups and downs like last year.”
Boston Bruins
The challenge to maintain that consistency is now officially upon the Bruins with captain’s practice in full swing, and NHL camp less than three weeks away.