Zdeno Chara changed the culture in Boston from the moment he arrived. The Boston Bruins etched his name into team history on Thursday at the TD Garden by raising his No. 33 to the rafters.
The Bruins roster and staff filled the two benches, and Bruins alumni filled the arena as the ceremony took place. Fans erupted in a “Thank you, Chara” chant before the Hall of Fame defenseman and his family watched his three children raise his banner.
ICYMI: Watch Chara’s Ceremony on YouTube
The Bruins signed Chara, a native of Trencin, Slovakia, on July 1, 2006. The team named him captain on October 3, 2006, just three months later; he held that role for 14 years. Chara skated in 1,023 games for the Bruins, totaling 148 goals and 333 assists for 481 points. He also played in 150 playoff games, 24 of which came when the Bruins lifted the Stanley Cup in 2011.
Chara is a six-time All-Star, with four appearances as a Bruin. He won the Norris Trophy in 2009, the Mark Messier Leadership Award in 2011, and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2025.
Over 14 seasons with the Bruins, Chara’s average time on ice was 24:29.
Chara ushered in a new era of the Boston Bruins. It began with his arrival in 2006, included the Stanley Cup in 2011, and ended with the conclusion of the 2019-20 season. His work ethic, leadership, and presence were all mentioned by his teammates and mentors at the Gold Carpet Entrance on Thursday.
“This team became my family,” Chara said during the ceremony, shortly after listing the 2011 Stanley Cup team. “These teammates became my brothers.”
His brothers praised him.
“I learned a lot of things, but I think if anything, it was, you know, his discipline, his hard work, obviously the leadership,” Patrice Bergeron, Chara’s assistant captain for 14 years, said. “I think I learned a lot from him because he came in when I was 21 years old, so I had a lot to learn still, and especially on that front. To have him as a captain and a mentor was very helpful for me, and obviously, we created a friendship and bond over the years. It was obviously a pleasure to lead alongside him.”
“It’s the ‘prove me wrong’ type of attitude that always stood out to me. If you tell him he can’t do something, he’s going to make sure to do it.”
Bergeron was there for Chara’s entire 14-year period in Boston; only David Krejci can say the same. Bergeron eventually succeeded Chara as the captain of the Bruins, and Chara was supportive from the jump.
“And so good leaders are people of action. And if he told you that you had to go 100 miles an hour, he would go 101 just to make sure that you knew that the ceiling was set,” Andrew Ference, Bruins defenseman from 2007-13, said about Chara. “[He would] come in the best shape of anybody, including all the rookies and everybody else. He didn’t need to do all that. But, you know, he was somebody who did lead by action and would never say something or ask something that he wasn’t willing to do himself. So that’s leadership.”
“I mean, whatever he did, he did by example. He led by example,” Dennis Seidenberg said about his former captain. “The way he acted on and off the ice. You could always count on him; he always set the tone with his whole heart. Everybody was working around him, and he got everybody to follow. Wherever he went, he was a presence and a leader. It just shows he deserves every bit of his honors, the Hall of Fame, all the accomplishments.”
Andrew Ference, who hosted tonight’s ceremony, played in Boston for seven seasons. After his time with the Bruins, Ference signed a deal in Edmonton and three short months later was named captain.
Dennis Seidenberg was on a defensive pairing with Chara throughout his playing time in Boston, which spanned from 2010-16. After Seidenberg left the Bruins, the two played on Team Europe at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
“We complemented each other really well,” Seidenberg said about playing on a pair with Chara. “He was obviously a force, and it was easy playing with him, just as a person having to deal with him on a daily basis. It was awesome.”
As a force on the ice, Chara made the job easier for a goaltender. His size also helps.
“He was there every day, showed up to work, showed up to do his job. He had that size that made him a special player. As a goalie, especially, how could I not feel safe playing behind him?” Tim Thomas said. “And just his attitude, he was our captain, so he couldn’t be the one that complained. He had to listen to all of us complain. And he’s just a great person and a great player.”
Tim Thomas backstopped the Bruins to the Stanley Cup in 2011; he fondly remembers who was the first player in his crease to celebrate.
“Looking back at that one save he made, where he was behind me, that was one that sticks out [in] my head. From my angle, not the TV, from my own eyes,” Thomas recalled. “And then, one of the other ones that sticks out to me is right after we won it, he was the first one down to my crease, and so those stand out.”
Tim Thomas won both the Vezina and the Conn Smythe Trophy in the 2010-11 season. He was with the organization from 2002-12, and played in 378 games. Chara and Thomas were named to the 2011 and 2012 All-Star Games together. In 2012, Chara captained a team and drafted Tim Thomas.
Ray Bourque’s No. 77 was retired by the Boston Bruins on October 4, 2001. Although he never played with Chara, No. 77 knew the impact No. 33 would make immediately upon playing in Boston.
“Things really changed when you know, Zee came here as a free agent,” the Bruins captain from 1985-2000 said. “From that point on, the culture and everything that comes with that, and the success and the run that they had, he was such a big part of that.”
“I think he was brought here because of who and what and how he did things,” Bourque added. “It didn’t take him very long to establish a major leadership role here, that you know. When you have your best player, your best players being the best people, and how they prepare, how they go about their daily business, it’s such a gift.”
“I think they became the Bruins, again.”
The banner that hangs from the TD Garden rafters reflects the culture that Zdeno Chara built on and off the ice. He led by example with a non-stop motor that still sets the standard in Boston. The jersey retirement does not mean that he is done; Chara remains in an advisor role with the organization and regularly meets with players.