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A video conference all with Bruins captain Zdeno Chara, Toronto captain John Tavares, Ottawa forward Brady Tkachuk and Detroit forward Dylan Larkin went from mundane to absurd in a matter of seconds Monday after Chara was asked which teammate he’d least like to be quarantined with.
“I have to say Tuukka Rask,” Chara said. “You know the way that he farts, it’s just … I don’t know if I … just the smell is awful. He likes his chicken wings.”
Needless to say, there was much-needed laughter after Chara’s remark.
Previously he identified Kevan Miller and Charlie Coyle as teammates he would like to be quarantined with.
Chara was also asked how difficult it was to have the NHL suspended because of the Coronavirus pandemic with the Bruins atop the NHL standings and looking like one of the favorites to win the Stanley Cup.
“It is obviously one of those situations that you can’t really control,” Chara said from his place in Florida. “I think that right now we all kind of have to look after each other and after our families. I know it’s kind of a cliché answer, in these days I think that hockey’s secondary. But you know if you kind of have to look at it that way, yeah, it is kind of hard to kind of pause the league at that kind of stage where we were at with fewer games remaining and so close to the playoffs and the team playing well, with confidence. And we were obviously at a good pace … but who knows, I think that we can’t always wish for the perfect situations. I think that these situations, as we’ve seen, do happen once in a while. Hopefully we will play again and we’ll see when that’s going to be.”
Chara said he’s staying in shape with some weights and bikes he has at his home. He’s also getting outside when he can and taking advantage of the Florida weather by using the pool.
“Well I think first playing against Big Zee, the crosschecks in front of the net, those are definitely something I definitely don’t miss,” Tkachuk said. “We have pretty good battles in front of the net, so when he lays the lumber on me … it definitely doesn’t feel as good.”
Larkin said: “Just his competitiveness, his long stick, you can’t get around him. We have (assistant coach) Doug Houda, who had Big Zee in Boston for a while. He says just skate by him, but you can’t, his stick’s so long, he’s got great feet and I definitely don’t miss when that puck does get by him, it gets by him and you’ve got to try to go in the corner and get it back from him. You know he’s going to get a piece of you somehow.”
Needless to say, the NHL now knows Chara’s weakness. Just pass gas around him.
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