Zdeno Chára

Zdeno Chára
Chára with the Boston Bruins in January 2012
Born	(1977-03-18) 18 March 1977 Trenčín, Czechoslovakia
Height	6 ft 9 in (206 cm)
Weight	250 lb (113 kg; 17 st 12 lb)
Position	Defence
Shot	Left
Played for	Sparta Praha New York Islanders Dukla Trenčín Ottawa Senators Färjestad BK Boston Bruins Lev Praha Washington Capitals
National team	Slovakia
NHL draft	56th overall, 1996 New York Islanders
Playing career	1996–2022

Zdeno Chára (born March 18, 1977 in Trenčín, Czechoslovakia) is a former professional ice hockey defenseman. He played a total of 24 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played for the New York Islanders, Ottawa Senators, Boston Bruins, and Washington Capitals. He was the captain of the Bruins from 2006 until 2020. Chára played hockey in the WHL for 1 season with the Prince George Cougars. He is the tallest player ever to play in the NHL, being 6 ft 9 (2.06 m).

On March 8, 2011, He was in an on-ice incident when he hit Montreal Canadiens player Max Pacioretty into the stanchion at the end of the bench in the boards. Pacioretty had to be taken off the ice on a stretcher and he was very hurt by a large concussion and a non-displaced fracture to the 4th vertebra. Chára received a five-minute large punishment and a game misconduct. The NHL VP of hockey operations, Mike Murphy, decided that no more punishments were going to be given, even though the Montreal police said they would do criminal investigation.

On September 20, 2022, Chára said that he was no longer going to play professional hockey. He retired as a member of the Bruins after signing a one-day contract with them.

Chára is married to his wife Tatiana Biskupicová and they have one daughter named Elliz Victoria Chára.

Awards

• He played in the NHL All-Star Game in 2003, 2007, 2008 (starter), 2009, 2011, and 2012. Chára was also one of the team captains in the 2012 game.
• He was named to the NHL First All-Star Team in 2004 and 2009.
• He was named to the NHL Second All-Star Team in 2006 and 2008.
• He won the James Norris Memorial Trophy in 2009.
• He won the Hardest Shot competition at the NHL All-Star Game SuperSkills Competition in 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2011 where he set a record of 105.9 mph (170.4 km/hr).
• He won the NHL Plus-Minus Award in 2011 with a +33 rating.
• He won the Stanley Cup with the Boston Bruins in 2011.

Other websites

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or ESPN.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database