Chara agrees to contract with Islanders, will play 24th NHL season
44-year-old defenseman gets one-year deal, is 13th in games played
Islanders, Chara agree to one-year contract
The 44-year-old defenseman is the oldest player in the NHL and will play his 24th season. He scored 10 points (two goals, eight assists) and averaged 18:19 in ice time in 55 regular-season games with the Washington Capitals last season. He did not score a point in five Stanley Cup Playoff games.
"I love the game," Chara said. "I have passion for the game and believe that I can still play. Those are the things you need. I don't think you need to say much besides having love for the game and having passion for it."
Selected by the Islanders in the third round (No. 56) of the 1996 NHL Draft, Chara has scored 666 points (207 goals, 459 assists) in 1,608 regular-season games with the Capitals, Boston Bruins, Ottawa Senators and Islanders, and ranks 13th in games played.
He played his first four NHL seasons with New York from 1997-2001 and scored 29 points (six goals, 23 assists) in 231 games. The Islanders did not qualify for the playoffs in any of Chara's four seasons. They traded him to the Senators on June 23, 2001.
"It's kind of a full circle," Chara said. "Who would [have known] this would work out the way it did after 20-something years. I'm certainly very honored and humbled to be an Islander again. Obviously, the organization went through some transitions over the course of 20 years, but we all see the progress and the positivity with where the team is at."
New York has been eliminated one round from the Stanley Cup Final each of the past two seasons by the Tampa Bay Lightning, who won the Stanley Cup each time.
Chara has scored 70 points (18 goals, 52 assists) in 200 postseason games and is one of 23 players to play that many games. He was captain of the Bruins when they won the Stanley Cup in 2011.
The winner of the Norris Trophy voted as the best defenseman in the NHL in 2008-09, Chara has made the NHL First All-Star Team three times (2003-04, 2008-09, 2013-14) and the Second All-Star Team four times (2005-06, 2007-08, 2010-11, 2011-12). He is fifth among defensemen in NHL history in regular-season games, trailing Chris Chelios (1,651), Scott Stevens (1,635), Larry Murphy (1,615) and Ray Bourque (1,612).
Chara said he received interest from other teams before deciding on the Islanders.
"We just obviously had to go through this process where it was taking some time," he said. "I had some conversations with teams and obviously with my family and we made the decision to go with the Islanders.
"Discussions with the family have been going on probably the whole summer. That was very important to me that my family would feel comfortable and ready for me to play another year and be away from them, but at the same time not too far (in Boston)."
Chara was asked if his decision to play another season in the NHL was based on a desire to play for the Slovakia in the 2022 Beijing Olympics in February. He played for his country in the 2006 Torino Olympics and was captain of Slovakia in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and 2014 Sochi Olympics. NHL players did not participate in the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics.
"I didn't really think about the Olympics at this time," he said. "I kindly declined to play the qualification in Slovakia due to [the] right reasons. I don't know where this goes, but I think my focus is right now being ready for training camp and whenever the Olympics comes, I'll deal with that."
The Islanders (32-17-7) finished fourth in the MassMutual East Division last season and lost the best-of-7 Stanley Cup Semifinals to the Lightning in seven games. They reached the Eastern Conference Final the previous season.
"It was always hard to be playing against the Islanders," Chara said. "They're always on you. They play a very heavy game, grinding game and they don't give up many chances, many goals. Games are always tight. It's a very solid group with a stronger leadership and a strong core of players that have been part of the Islanders for a long time.
"Under the great coaching staff and one of the best, if not the best, [general] manager in the league (Lou Lamoriello). It's a well-structured and cultured team now and for sure they're making a lot of noise around the league."
New York opens the regular season at the Carolina Hurricanes on Oct. 14.
"You never know how your career will evolve and how it will end up, but obviously nobody can really imagine to finish where they start," Chara said. "It just worked out that way, and I'm glad it did. I'm happy to be an Islander again. That's just the way it sometimes works."
NHL.com senior writer Dan Rosen contributed to this report
