Zdeno Chara was a gangly kid with an unpredictable future when he first met his soon-to-be agent and forever-friend Matt Keator.
Chara was just starting out with the Islanders, the team that drafted him in the third round in 1996, and he was looking for representation. Keator was building his company, WIN Hockey Agency, and he made himself readily available. As is often the case with life-changing events, Keator remembers every detail.
“He was interviewing agents and somebody said he’s probably going to give you a call. He called me on a Tuesday around 1 o’clock and we had a nice chat. He said ‘I’d like to talk to you more.’ I said ‘What are you doing for lunch tomorrow?’” remembered Keator. “And he was all shocked that I would prioritize him, I think. I hopped in the car and drove down to Long Island to meet him. At the time, he was the No. 6 defenseman on the Islanders, a throw-it-off-the-glass-and-out type, growing into his body still. So I drive down and we were supposed to have lunch. We ended up having lunch and dinner. I stayed all day and we talked all day. It was great. We just found a connection and it just kind of grew from there.”
That throw-it-off-glass defenseman would become nothing less than a legendary figure, of course, one who will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on Monday night in Toronto along with former Bruin Joe Thornton, Boston University coach Jack Parker, Duncan Keith, Alexander Mogilny, Jennifer Botterill, Briana Decker and Daniele Savigeau.
His career took off when he was traded to the Ottawa Senators in 2001 in a deal for Alexei Yashin that included the No. 2 overall pick (Jason Spezza) and jump-started a good run for Ottawa. In that time, Chara grew into his massive 6-foot-9 frame and, with a truly unique dedication to his fitness and craft, became a force on the blue line.
Keator fully admits he didn’t see that coming when he met Chara for their first lunch/dinner.
“Nobody knew. Nobody knew what he would become. Honestly, I thought he would have a chance to be a potential 3-4 maybe. But nobody thought he’d be what he became. If they say they did, then they’d be lying,” said Keator, whose current clients include Anaheim’s budding star Leo Carlsson. “But he’s earned everything he’s gotten. I talk to a lot of teams and kids all the time. I talk a lot with college and high school teams and talk about how to maximize your career and I use him and others as an example. But really the others learned it all from him. Like a lot of my clients, like (Blake) Wheeler, (Chris) Kreider and (Paul) Stastny, all of these guys. They all learned from Z and his methods of journaling and workouts and diet, everything he does to max out. Garnet Hathaway did. He had him for one year in Washington (near the end of Chara’s career) and he was blown away by it. He’s a great role model and he leads by example. That’s what built the culture in Boston.”
In the summer of 2006, the two pillars of the Senators’ defense, Chara and Wade Redden, were set to become free agents. Their cap situation allowed them to sign only one of them. In what would be a regrettable decision, the Sens chose to keep Redden and let Chara walk.
At the time, the Bruins were not all that high on the list for many free agents. The summer before, which was the first signing period after the lost lockout season of the 2004-05, the B’s had plenty of room to sign players after ownership’s decision to let some of their top players like Brian Rolston and Mike Knuble go unsigned before the lockout, but the biggest names they could land was Alexei Zhamnov and HHOFer Brian Leetch, who were both in the final years of the careers.
The 2005-06 season turned out to be one of upheaval that saw Thornton traded to San Jose. Eventually, GM Mike O’Connell was fired and the B’s hired Peter Chiarelli, who had been the assistant GM in Ottawa, though he couldn’t officially join the Bruins until after the draft and free-agent signing period.
“When Z signed, he was attracted to the city, the culture,” said Keator. “Boston people are hard-working and the Bruins’ fan base were working class people who appreciate what he brings. I think his style and his way of playing fit very well here. And there was also a chance to become a leader right away on a team and he yearned to be in a leadership role as captain. I think that appealed to him also. But it also helped that Peter Chiarelli was going to be the GM and he knew Peter really well and both of us were real comfortable with Peter. That helped, too.”
The Chara signing, which to this day is the greatest free-agent signing in NHL history, changed the course of Bruins’ history almost immediately. Marc Savard signed on the same day and, with a young Patrice Bergeron already there and draft pick David Krejci on his way, the B’s began their march to their first Stanley Cup in 39 years in 2011.
The Cup win was no doubt his highlight, but what might have cemented the legend of this towering figure – literally and figuratively – was that night in 2019 when he stood on the blue line for Game 5 of the Cup final, his jaw wired shut after it was shattered by a shot in the previous game, and the roar from the crowd was thunderous.
“I think he already had the hearts of all the fans but it was more so after that,” said Keator.
Chara won just one Norris Trophy in his career that spanned 1,680 NHL games, which in retrospect seems a bit silly. That fact that Chara is going into the Hall in his first year of eligibility underscores that.
But as dominant a player as Chara was, it’s the friendship that matters most to Keator.
“He’s the captain of the Keator Club. He’s at the front of the website and he’ll always be there,” said Keator. “I think every agent who’s done it a long time has three or four guys they hang their hats on and Z is the central one for me, obviously. We’ve had a great relationship for 26 years and still going. We’re still great friends. He’s very special.”