Chara's future with Bruins remains unclear, Neely says
Boston president unsure about role for 43-year-old free agent defenseman
"We still have to flesh that out," Neely said Monday. "I think [Chara] was waiting to see what the schedule looked like, how it may impact his decision. We're still fleshing that out."
The NHL and NHL Players' Association formally reached agreement Sunday to play a 56-game regular season starting Jan. 13, 2021, and ending May 8.
The Bruins have less than two weeks to sign Chara, an unrestricted free agent, before training camp opens Jan. 3.
Chara's agent Matt Keator told TSN he expects to have talks with Boston over the next few days: "I've had 20-plus teams reach out to me, but his focus right now is to talk to Boston," Keator said. "... He still has the option to retire. But he seems very interested in playing if it's the right fit."
Part of the issue appears to be what role the Bruins envision for Chara, who is 43 years old and played 21:01 per game last season, his lowest average since his first full NHL season in 1998-99 (18:54).
"It's tough to say," Neely said.
Since Chara signed with Boston on July 2, 2006, he has been the No. 1 defenseman and captain. He won the Norris Trophy voted as the top defenseman in the NHL in 2008-09.
But the Bruins have given increased responsibility to defenseman Charlie McAvoy and would like to try to integrate some younger defensemen.
Asked if there would be a roster spot for Chara, Neely said, "I think it really depends on what he feels he can do and help us, and we have to feel the same way. How that looks -- is that something he would be comfortable with, how we maybe envision it looking compared to maybe how he feels it may look?
"This is a really difficult time for anybody that is going to come off a long break and have a short training camp and jump right into a compressed schedule with a number of back-to-backs and, I think, 116 days to play 56 games. So, there's a lot of factors in play about what makes sense for us and what makes sense for Zdeno."
Chara was clear about his own desires after the Bruins were eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season by the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games in the best-of-7 Eastern Conference Second Round.
"I want to stay in Boston. I want to be a Boston Bruin," Chara said Sept. 3.
In 1,023 games over 14 seasons with the Bruins, Chara has scored 481 points (148 goals, 333 assists). He has scored 656 points (205 goals, 451 assists) in 1,553 games in 22 NHL seasons with the Bruins, Ottawa Senators and New York Islanders.
Although the Bruins have their right-side defensemen locked down with McAvoy, Brandon Carlo, Connor Clifton, and Kevan Miller, the left side is up in the air, with the departure of Torey Krug as a free agent to the St. Louis Blues on Oct. 9 and the uncertainty with Chara.
Rookie defensemen Jakub Zboril and Urho Vaakanainen could be options on the left side, as could veterans Matt Grzelcyk, John Moore, and Jeremy Lauzon.
"We do want to take a look at some of these young left-shot D's that we have in our system, see if they can step up, or is it the time for them to step up and see where they're at in their development," Neely said. "We certainly respect Zdeno and everything he's done for the organization and what he's accomplished as a player and what he's done both on and off the ice here in Boston."
The Bruins could also dip into the free agent market or make a trade, with Neely saying, "I still think we'd like to still explore our back end a little bit. Even though we feel we've got some guys that can step in, it's just a matter of the experience piece that everybody likes, but you don't get experience until you play."
Neely said that two forwards who had offseason surgery, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak, remain on schedule with their recovery. Marchand had sports hernia surgery Sept. 14, and his recovery was expected to take approximately four months, putting him on target for the start of the season in mid-January. Pastrnak had a right hip arthroscopy and labral repair Sept. 16, with his recovery expected to take approximately five months, which would put him on target for mid-February.
"They're coming back, but they might miss a little time," Neely said. "As far as hard dates, it's hard to put a hard date on those guys. Brad, I know has been on the ice a couple times, which is a good sign. David recently got back into town and will continue his rehab."
