Watching Zdeno Chara play for the Washington Capitals was odd.
Know what would be more strange? Watch him play against the Boston Bruins.
“I respect those guys a lot. I love them as my brothers. We were able to win a Stanley Cup together, “Chara said on Friday about Zoom over the Bruins. ‘We understand that this is a business and we need to play for our teams and compete out there. But at the same time, we have something very deep and far back, and of course we will cherish those memories. ‘
Chara was, of course, the leader of the Bruins from 2006 until he left for the Caps last season in free agency. So far, both sides have done well. The 43-year-old fits well into Washington’s system, while the Browns’ youngsters Jakub Zboril and Jeremy Lauzon did a good job of replacing Chara and Torey Krug.
And after so many years watching Chara with the Bruins, it’s weird to see him go against Brad Marchand, who has no plans to tweet his former teammate.
“I don’t think it’s going to be any different,” Chara said of Marchand. ‘He’s a man who always goes there and competes and tries to win for his teams. I think we had a lot of practice against each other and we both compete pretty hard, so I expect nothing different from him or from anyone else. ”
Even the potential for discomfort will not take away the profound impact he has had on many guys. That was a highlight for Bruce Cassidy on Thursday and another Friday.
“There were so many (things he taught me),” said David Pastrnak, who expects him to make his debut on Saturday. ‘Especially when I was 18 and entered the room. Clearly a bit (an advantage) is because we speak the same language, so he helped me a lot, he gave me a lot of his time and left me for a bunch of meals.
“I can not thank him enough, he taught me how to be a pro, to be honest. It sounds like one of the simplest things, but for a young player to become a pro and be like a pro, it’s not always easy. ‘
When Brandon Carlo broke into the NHL in 2016, he underwent a baptism of fire and got the best combination with Chara. The captain did a good job of letting his defensive partner succeed in the short and long term.
In the years that followed, Chara ended up with Charlie McAvoy, while Carlo was with Krug (and now Matt Grzelcyk). Carlo grew into one of the East’s better defensive works, while also flourishing as a leader.
This is partly because he made notes on how Chara operates.
“When I had the pleasure of playing with him all my first year, I realized that communication on the ice was the biggest component to having a successful pairing,” Carlo said. ‘From the ice he certainly set an example. You would see him more than anyone else in the gym, so he was always in there to take care of his body and do the work to be able to maintain and play for as long as he has. ”
The Bruins and Capitals will face each other eight times this year, so over time we will get used to Chara facing his former team.
Until then, it will just feel a little different.
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