The Boston Bruins retired the 13th jersey number in their organization on Thursday, Jan. 15 when they sent former Captain Zdeno Chara’s No. 33 to the rafters.
Chara served as the Bruins’ captain from 2006-2020. Despite his long tenure with the team, he did not start out with the organization.
The 6-foot-9 defenseman was drafted by the New York Islanders in 1996 and stayed with the team until 2001 when he was traded to the Ottawa Senators, where he remained for four seasons.
Chara’s career did not take off until he joined the Bruins in 2006 and most notably helped lead the team to their 2011 Stanley Cup victory.
Across his career in Boston, Chara played in the NHL All Star Game six times and won the Norris trophy as the best defenseman in the NHL in 2009.
Hosted by former teammate Andrew Ference, Bruins fans took a trip down memory lane with their former captain at Chara’s jersey number retirement ceremony.
The ceremony began with a video montage of moments from Chara’s career, and the TD Garden crowd got the loudest when a clip was shown of Chara returning to Game 5 of the 2019 Stanley Cup Final wearing a full-face shield.
In Game 4, Chara broke his jaw, leaving everyone to believe he would no longer be able to play, yet he returned the next game ready to play.
In attendance at the ceremony were members of the 2011 team with whom he won the Stanley Cup. Players included Tuukka Rask, Mark Recchi, Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci and Dennis Seidenberg, who presented the banner to Chara and his family.
Also present for the ceremony were seven players whose numbers were previously retired by the organization: Ray Bourque, Terry O’Reilly, Willie O’Ree, Ricky Middleton, Johnny Bucyk, Cam Neely and Bobby Orr.
Chara was given the chance to speak. He began by saying that upon entering the NHL, he had wanted to wear No. 3. Once he learned that the number had been retired for Lionel Hitchman, he settled for 33. Little did Chara know about the deep meaning of that number in Boston, as it was worn by Larry Bird during his time with the Boston Celtics.
He reflected on signing with the Bruins within minutes, given the fast pace of free agency during the offseason. It was a decision that impacted the rest of his life.
“You have to take a risk … but I also was not reckless with that decision,” Chara said. “I knew that that’s where I wanted to go because there were these opportunities of possibly leading the team, there was desperation to get better, the history, and obviously the living [in Boston]. I saw that would be a good fit. And it ended up being the best decision I ever made.”
At the conclusion of the ceremony, Chara’s wife Tatiana and their children Elliz, Zack and Ben raised No. 33 to the rafters, officially making it the 13th number in the organization to be retired.
The celebration did not stop once the ceremony concluded as Chara was honored countless times throughout the night. The current Bruins team all wore No. 33 during warmups ahead of their game against the Seattle Kraken.
When the buzzer sounded and the Bruins’ 4-2 win was secure, goaltender Jeremy Swayman pointed towards Chara’s banner, indicating that this win was for him.
“It’s bigger than us,” Swayman said in a post-game interview with NESN. “He’s the one who paved the way for us… He’s the reason we have the culture here with the fans.”