"It's always nice to reach milestones, but once you reach them it's just a short moment of kind of celebration or enjoyment," the Washington Capitals defenseman said. "But the process to get to those milestones, it takes time. It takes years, days away from family, and I always enjoyed that whole process going after those, reaching those goals."
Washington plays at the New York Islanders on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; ESPN+, MSG+, NBCSWA, NHL.TV).
That is when Chara will join Chris Chelios (1,651), Scott Stevens (1,635), Larry Murphy (1,615) and Ray Bourque (1,612) as defensemen to play 1,600 games and become the 13th player to reach the mark. IN his 2rd season, he has gotten this far with a meticulous commitment to his training and healthy diet, a love of the game, and a lifelong determination to prove doubters wrong.
The oldest player in the NHL at 44, Chara hasn't forgotten that youth hockey coaches in his native Slovakia tried to convince him -- a tall, lanky kid who grew to 6-foot-9, 250 pounds -- to try basketball instead.
"I was kind of the guy who wasn't supposed to make it, first and foremost," said Chara, the tallest player to play in the NHL. "I was cut by many teams at a very young age and that kind of gave me a huge motivation."
Chara will play his 1,600th game against the Islanders, who selected him in the third round (No. 56) of the 1996 NHL Draft. He played 231 games in four seasons for the Islanders, 299 games in four seasons with the Ottawa Senators, and 1,023 games in 14 seasons with the Boston Bruins.
The 2009 winner of the Norris Trophy voted as the top defenseman in the NHL, Chara was Bruins captain when they won the Stanley Cup in 2011 and helped them reach the Stanley Cup Final in 2013 and 2019. In his first season with the Capitals after signing a one-year, $795,000 contract Dec. 30, Chara has played 46 games, averaging 18:23 in ice time and fitting seamlessly into their locker room.
"I love everything about that kid and mostly the way his teammates feel about him," Chelios said earlier this season. "You're never going to hear anyone say a bad word against this guy. He's just a real professional, beginning with his work ethic. He's the ultimate team guy. I'm glad he's playing. I love to see it."
Stevens said he remembers Chara as a raw talent when he broke into the NHL who never stopped working to improve. He witnessed it up close at the 2003 NHL All-Star Game in Florida.
"He stayed after and he was working out. And this is an all-star break," Stevens said. "Most guys are in and out of the rink and they're gone, and he was doing the extra, putting in the extra time in the weight room."
Chara has made a similar impression in Washington.
"He's an extremely talented player and he's allowing himself to continue playing by the condition that he keeps himself in," Capitals coach Peter Laviolette said. "I also think that as you get older, not always, but, I don't want to say you lose the passion or lose the flame or lose the fire, but it takes more to keep that burn going, and he clearly has that burn."
That burn contributed to Chara's decision to leave the Bruins after they offered him a reduced role. It has worked out well for him and the Capitals, who are first in the eight-team MassMutual East Division, one point ahead of the Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins. The top four teams will qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
"I had a vision and a goal as well to have a certain role," Chara said, "and I just try to do my best every night and be a good pro and help my teammates and my team to do as best as we can. So that's still my goal and, obviously, we are not done. There is a lot more to do."
Asked how long he plans to continue playing, Chara said, "We'll see how everything works out after the season." He'd have a chance next season to break Chelios' record for games by a defenseman.
"It's not easy," Stevens said. "The game's changed since Chelios and myself played. It's more of a speed game, north-south. But I think he can do anything he wants. He's a smart guy, and if he wants to, he can do it. You can play as long as you want when you have that size and dedication that he has playing the game."
