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USA Allen Today Sports, Kevin Allen, recaps the first game of the NHL Stanley Cup final between the Blues and Bruins.
UNITED STATES TODAY & # 39; HUI
BOSTON – When Zdeno Chara played his first game with the New York Islanders on November 19, 1997, the NHL did not look like the current situation.
The league had 26 teams. Wayne Gretzky was always a force. The fighting was always fashionable. Each defender hung and held. The last player without a helmet had only retired seven months earlier. Nobody would have bet that the possibility that Las Vegas ends up with an NHL team.
Twenty-one seasons later, the NHL looks radically different, except that 42-year-old Chara is still playing at an elite level for the Boston Bruins in the Stanley Cup final against the St. Louis Blues.
"He is a special player," said Bruins teammate Jake DeBrusk. "For him to adapt to all the changes of this game and to be the dominant player he is … it's impressive."
The size of Bruins defender Zdeno Chara. range and play in position make it difficult to face. (Photo: Winslow Townson, USA TODAY Sports)
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Charlie McAvoy, his defensive partner, was not born when Chara started playing.
What makes Chara's longevity even more remarkable is that it's 6 feet 9 inches, about 7 feet on skates, and it's thriving in a league that's growing in speed and youth.
"I had a little sense where the game was going in recent years," Chara said. "And I've been trying to work very hard during the off season and during the season on my ability to read better."
While young players are flying all over the offensive zone, Chara relies a lot on always being in the right position.
"He plays a lot of brains," said Blues coach Craig Berube, who was briefly Chara's teammate with the Islanders. "It's been a long time since he's there and he's using this long reach to get in the way."
Chara has a wingspan similar to that of a condor, which allows him to carry pucks with his stick that other defenders can not reach.
"It's his physical condition to start," said Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy. "His commitment to stay young. It's his eating habits, his preparation. And he's a very smart guy. He knows how the game has changed and he's adapted. "
Goaltender Tuukka Rask said that Chara was working so hard to improve his game that he was probably a better skater later in his career.
Everyone in the NHL seems to admire and respect the relevance of Chara. At the conclusion of the Eastern Conference final, Carolina Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour took a longer break during the handshake to salute his efforts and wish him good luck.
"I find it very impressive what he can still do," said Ryan O'Reilly, Blues center. "It's amazing what he's still doing."
Chara leads the NHL with a playoff gap of over 11, averaging 22 minutes and 21 seconds per game. His size also makes him a daunting presence and he uses it as a weapon.
Chara is the same age as another local sports hero, Tom Brady, and his teammates like him as much as the New England Patriots enjoy the quarterback.
"Chara is a Hall of Fame," said DeBrusk. "For sure."
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