When Peter Chiarelli left Ottawa to take the GM job in Boston, one of the first moves he made was the signing of Zdeno Chara from those same Senators. While Chiarelli wasn’t officially GM of the team yet because of an agreement between the B’s and Sens, it is well known around these parts (Boston) that Chiarelli was behind that move.
Fast forward to 2017, eleven years later, and Chiarelli may be able to get his hands on the hulking Slovak defender yet again. The Bruins are in transition and going from their veteran, big bad Bruins style to a younger and more offensive look.
Chara, who is entering the final year of his contract, could be used as trade bait to acquire some younger pieces as defenders like Charlie McAvoy, Jakub Zboril and Matt Grzelcyk push up from the AHL, college and juniors.
Why Is He Out There?:
As mentioned above, the Bruins are in a bit of a transition period from big and tough to more skilled. Chara only has one year left on his deal and it is possible that the Bruins move him to both get more young assets and free up cap space to pursue some scoring.
Boston simply will not embrace a full on rebuild, so the team won’t just give Chara away, but a trade is possible considering Charlie McAvoy’s surge and a strong finish to the season by veteran defenders Adam McQuaid and Kevan Miller.
What Does He Do Well?:
Zdeno Chara has already earned his spot in the Hockey Hall of Fame and will go down as one of the best defenders of his generation. After 18 years in the NHL, Big Zee has certainly slowed down but is still an effective top-four defender at the NHL level. In fact, he played 23:19 per night for the Bruins a season ago and was the team’s top defender.
As we all know, Chara has a reach that is unmatched in NHL history. He’s strong as an ox, plays a physical style and is one of the most intimidating defenders in the entire league. Defensively, Chara is still an extremely valuable player who can break up the cycle and stand tall at the blueline. Creating offense against the big man, even at his age, is a near impossible task for opposing forwards.
Offensively, Chara can carry the puck up ice if need be but can’t do it consistently anymore. He can make and take a pass with ease and still has one of the hardest shots in the entire NHL. On top of handling a plethora of penalty killing time, Chara can help as a threat from the point on the power play.
The long time Boston captain is also one of the best leaders in the NHL today and certainly would have a positive impact on the Oiler dressing room and could be the natural leader of the defensive group.
Where Will He Play/Where Should He Play?:
Chara is one of the few left-shot defenders on this list and doesn’t play on his off side very often. That said, if the Oilers were to acquire Chara he would play on their second pairing in place of the injured Andrej Sekera. I could also see Todd McLellan sticking with Chara in that spot once Sekera returns and having the two form a pairing with Andrej on the right side.
It wouldn’t be ideal for Sekera, but it is a possibility and it could work.
Chara, at this stage of his career, is no longer a true number one defender but is without doubt a top-four option.
What Will He Cost?:
The Bruins are in need of scoring, so the obvious question is to ask if Jordan Eberle would be of interest to them. With two more years at $6 million per, I’m not so sure that the fit is there. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins could also appeal to the Bruins, especially if they decide to finally move on from David Krejci.
Would Edmonton’s first round pick be enough? I think it would, but again I don’t know if the Oilers would do that because they lack quality forward prospects in the system.
I keep coming back to Jordan Eberle being the piece going out, but because of money there would need to be other pieces here. I can certainly see Chara-for-Eberle being the focal point of a deal, however.
Closing Argument:
Zdeno Chara is in the twilight of his NHL career, but he is still an effective top-four defender and I believe would be an upgrade on Kris Russell for the Oilers. He really does bring it all both on and off the ice and I firmly believe that he would be a perfect fit for the Oilers. With Boston in transition there is a real chance they could acquire him for the right price.
If Cam Neely and Peter Chiarelli can get over their feud, the Oilers and Bruins could be perfect trading partners this summer. If Peter Chiarelli can get his hands on Zdeno Chara, I firmly believe that he should.
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