Zdeno Chara has now played more games than any defenseman in NHL history. After tying the record on Tuesday in Seattle, Chara now stands alone after taking the ice for the Islanders’ game in San Jose Thursday night.
It is career game No. 1,652 for Chara, moving him one ahead of previous record holder Chris Chelios. The 44-year-old Chara, who spent 14 of his now-24 seasons with the Bruins, is now tied for seventh -- with former teammate Mark Recchi -- among all players in games played, with only six forwards ahead of him. He is 125 behind Patrick Marleau for the most ever.
Chelios himself is among those who have congratulated Chara on the record, with the New York Post reporting that the two spoke for 15-20 minutes by phone on Wednesday.
“He’s just a class act,” Chelios said of Chara. “He has been his whole career. It’s a good thing he wasn’t a real mean guy — he could do a lot of damage out there.”
Bruins legend Bobby Orr took to Twitter to congratulate Chara, writing, “Congratulations to @zdeno33 for tying the most NHL games played by a defenseman. Big record breaking game tomorrow night! You’re a great pro and person. Thanks for all you’ve done for the game.”
Chara was drafted by the Islanders in the third round back in 1996 and made his NHL debut the following year, becoming the tallest player in NHL history in the process (6-foot-9). Chara played four seasons in New York before being traded to the Ottawa Senators, where he then spent his next four seasons and developed into a perennial Norris Trophy candidate.
On July 1, 2006, the Bruins made Chara a centerpiece of their rebuild, signing the then-29-year-old to a five-year, $37.5 million contract in free agency and immediately naming him team captain.
Chara would spend the next 14 seasons as Bruins captain. The Slovakia native led the team to its first Stanley Cup in 39 years in 2011 and helped them get to two more Cup Finals in 2013 and 2019. He won the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenseman in 2009 and finished top five in voting five other times. Chara ranks sixth all-time in games played for the Bruins at 1,023.
Chara and the Bruins separated after the 2019-20 season, with Boston unwilling to commit to him as an everyday player anymore. He signed a one-year deal with the Capitals and played 55 of 56 regular-season games before getting knocked out of the playoffs by the Bruins.
This past summer, Chara signed another one-year deal, this time returning to the team he started his career with in the Islanders. He currently has zero goals, eight assists and a plus-4 rating while playing 18:31 per night in 43 games.
Whether Chara finishes the season with the Islanders remains to be seen. With New York well out of the playoff picture, TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reported this week that other teams have started to call them to see if Chara is available ahead of the March 21 trade deadline.
“A big congrats to Zee,” Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said Thursday. “He deserves it. He’s one of a kind when it comes to that mentality and ability to stay at that level of physical conditioning. Hopefully he catches whoever’s next on the list if that’s his wish. Whatever he wants, I wish him all the best. He’s a terrific person, obviously a great player.”
Among the tributes that poured in on social media was a video from the Bruins featuring comments from Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, Charlie McAvoy, Don Sweeney, Charlie Jacobs and Cam Neely. Watch it below.
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