Player Discussion Zdeno Chara

[Sheppy]

I know this is fantasy talk but what would Chara look like playing LW. He's so slow on D that he's no longer a shutdown guy. You play him 14 minutes a night on the wing he probably puts up 15 goals, 30 assists. Just curious so don't bash to hard. I also realize how bad our D is so maybe it's an option next year or after, as he gets slower and the young D hopefully improve.

I've seen better hands on a digital clock. 15 goals and 30 assists is an absolute pipe dream...

I have always respected Chara and what he brought to the Bruins, but his time is up, and it has been 2 years ago.

 

[BigGoalBrad]

I know this is fantasy talk but what would Chara look like playing LW. He's so slow on D that he's no longer a shutdown guy. You play him 14 minutes a night on the wing he probably puts up 15 goals, 30 assists. Just curious so don't bash to hard. I also realize how bad our D is so maybe it's an option next year or after, as he gets slower and the young D hopefully improve.

Hes never been fast and has been elite despite that the positioning and poke check aren't going anywhere.

Ask yourself if we had other young D men who we needed to pay (Hamilton and someone else) and bought out Z if you don't think he'd excel on the Blackhawks or Blues bottom pair.

There is 2 sides to Chara. We still really need the guy and given the other D men on the roster his cap hit isn't even a huge problem. But hes never been slick or smooth the gaffes and bad moments will really stand out now.

I like the idea of him at forward if he was a little meaner and liked to hit more since he'd be able to gas himself every shift and wouldn't be able to be moved from in front of the net. But is there enough skill between Beleskey-Backes-Chara to score at all??? Could he catch Krejci saucer passes at full speed and get a shot off quickly? You'd need a different coach willing to gamble and unleash the D men and let Krug join the rush its not working with Claude.

 

[BMC]

He's healthy now. He's got 82 games to go. Plus the world cup. Plus preseason.

Hopefully Claude does keep his minutes down. But he didn't last year when he should have. Still the same coach.

I don't think Claude had much choice- the other dmen couldn't stop turning the puck over or getting out of position which led to scoring chances or goals.

Remember a coach's first priority is winning games. Claude probably knows Chara needs less minutes to be effective at this stage of his career but unless/until the defense improves I don't think it happens. It is one of the reasons I really want Colin Miller to step up his game.

 

[Sheppy]

Hes never been fast and has been elite despite that the positioning and poke check aren't going anywhere.

Ask yourself if we had other young D men who we needed to pay (Hamilton and someone else) and bought out Z if you don't think he'd excel on the Blackhawks or Blues bottom pair.

There is 2 sides to Chara. We still really need the guy and given the other D men on the roster his cap hit isn't even a huge problem. But hes never been slick or smooth the gaffes and bad moments will really stand out now.

I like the idea of him at forward if he was a little meaner and liked to hit more since he'd be able to gas himself every shift and wouldn't be able to be moved from in front of the net. But is there enough skill between Beleskey-Backes-Chara to score at all??? Could he catch Krejci saucer passes at full speed and get a shot off quickly? You'd need a different coach willing to gamble and unleash the D men and let Krug join the rush its not working with Claude.

I'm going to go with no. He can't even get a point shot off quickly on a PP, other than a lazy wrister that ends up in the goalies glove 99% of the time.

They flat out need to splurge and get a solid #1-2 d-man and limit Z's minutes to 19-20 minutes a night.

They should aim to move Subban while he holds SOME value. He's going to be a backup/rot in the minors for another 3-4 years by the looks of it.

 

[BigGoalBrad]

Nice snipe Z 1-0 Europe. F Canada I'm rooting for Chara and Seids maybe Z will get some respect if Europe can take the next 2.

 

[finchster]

The problem for Julien is he can't keep Chara's minutes down because he is still the best defencemen on the team. 24 minutes keeps Mcquaid at 17/18 minutes, I don't want McQuaid playing 19-20 minutes, thats a recipe for more failure.

 

[DaStinger]

Nice snipe Z 1-0 Europe. F Canada I'm rooting for Chara and Seids maybe Z will get some respect if Europe can take the next 2.

Was a nice well placed wrister. The giveaway in the last game while he was trying to take the puck up ice himself made me shudder, hope we don't see many of those this year.

 

[JEM28]

Yes he could dominate again if the minutes were low enough IMO. The guy will never lose his reach or sense of positioning.

I don't thnk Chara would dominate of he was only playing 14 min per game. In fact I don't think that that words "Chara" and "dominate" should be in the same sentence unless past tense is used.

 

[ODAAT]

I've seen better hands on a digital clock. 15 goals and 30 assists is an absolute pipe dream...

I have always respected Chara and what he brought to the Bruins, but his time is up, and it has been 2 years ago.

If he was playing along side a legit top 2 or even top 4 D-man we wouldn`t be having half the conversations we are about him

No argument that he`s not the same D-man of even 3/4 years ago,who is at his age? Maybe Lidstrom, but the right partner would alleviate much of the work load and heavy lifting, also help cover the mistakes, problem is, I don`t see that D-man walking into the B`s room anytime soon

 

[Over the volcano]

I've seen better hands on a digital clock. 15 goals and 30 assists is an absolute pipe dream...

I have always respected Chara and what he brought to the Bruins, but his time is up, and it has been 2 years ago.

So you always respected him until the last two years...

Chara is a long way from this team's problems - the first handful of games last year without him should have been a wake up call for people who think they'd be better off without him even at his age. Hell, he had more goals than PK subban just last year.

 

[JOKER 192]

Yes he could dominate again if the minutes were low enough IMO. The guy will never lose his reach or sense of positioning.


Can you imagine how good he'd play if for some reason we bought him out and he signed for the vet minimum with LA Chicago or St Louis???

That's great, at least he'll be in position when opponents blow past him.

He's plain slow, even if he played two minutes a game, he'd still be slow.

 

[PatriceBergeronFan]

So you always respected him until the last two years...

Chara is a long way from this team's problems - the first handful of games last year without him should have been a wake up call for people who think they'd be better off without him even at his age. Hell, he had more goals than PK subban just last year.

That's a good point. The defense with and without slow Chara were night and day.

 

[don]

No to the LW thought. I agree he might be #2 if we get an outstanding RD to play with him. I'd still like to see him as #3 though. We have a couple of up-and-comers but I don't think they'll pay off this year. As for him losing the C, I hape he retires with it.

 

[CharasLazyWrister]

That's a good point. The defense with and without slow Chara were night and day.

He missed two games. The first two games. Not a handful. Two games. I'm sorry, but to see this point and then say it's good...there's got to be an agenda.

If the first two losses of the season are going to be largely attributed to not having Chara, then what about the 9-2 loss with LA? What about the 5-1 WC loss to the Habs? What about the 6-1 loss to Ottawa at the end of the season?

I could keep going.

I am fine with people saying that Chara isn't the biggest problem on defense, because it's frankly pretty obvious he's not. But acting like the defense was anything more than ****ing awful WITH OR WITHOUT CHARA, and that Z made some huge difference and improved it soooo much (night and day...I mean come on) is straight up bologna. Or baloney.

 

[Baddkarma]

Its two fold. Chara has slowed as you would expect at his age and the league over the last decade has become a bit of a faster game. He has two years left and he can be used to great effect if the Bruins can get a guy who can skate, is a competent passer, and can defend a bit. So yea, a legit number 2.

If they cant get that player soon Chara will be in the spotlight again and it could be a long year if has to be the go-to guy back there.

 

[CharasLazyWrister]

You say my argument is illogical and baseless, yet the two examples you cite just happened to have those productive seasons playing alongside arguably his generation's No.1 passing C in Joe Thornton.

Maybe, just maybe, their drop off in production has more to do with them no longer having Joe Thornton feeding them picture-perfect passes than it has anything to do with their drop off in speed.

The whole Chara is "too old" and "too slow" argument is what is baseless. I don't see a dramatic drop-off in speed. So yeah a speedy winger might beat him wide a bit more often than they did 5 years ago. In the grand scheme of things that's not a major issue, it's not like it happens all game every game. I never said he hasn't declined somewhat. I don't believe speed-reduction is the reason for the decline.

I do see a guy who is more affected by fatigue and can't play 25-27 minutes a game anymore.

Well, I'm sorry if I came on a little strong with the "baseless" term.

What about a guy like Michael Ryder? What happened there? Never had a game based on speed but suddenly couldn't play anymore ~33? Could it be that he dropped below the threshold?

 

[Sheppy]

So you always respected him until the last two years...

Chara is a long way from this team's problems - the first handful of games last year without him should have been a wake up call for people who think they'd be better off without him even at his age. Hell, he had more goals than PK subban just last year.

Where did i say i don't respect him? I said that his time is up... I always loved my old 1989 Mustang, but you can only spend so much on parts until you realize "Hey, maybe it's time for something new..."

I thought he played decently last night, though.

 

[Sheppy]

Its two fold. Chara has slowed as you would expect at his age and the league over the last decade has become a bit of a faster game. He has two years left and he can be used to great effect if the Bruins can get a guy who can skate, is a competent passer, and can defend a bit. So yea, a legit number 2.

If they cant get that player soon Chara will be in the spotlight again and it could be a long year if has to be the go-to guy back there.

How often can we keep saying "he has slowed" when he was never quick to begin with? You can't play hockey in reverse.

 

[Baddkarma]

How often can we keep saying "he has slowed" when he was never quick to begin with? You can't play hockey in reverse.

I agree with you on that fact that he has never been "fast" and has always lacked even moderate recovery speed.

Chara has always compensated for that with superior positioning and his massive size.

I think with the right partner, Chara can be a very productive player.

 

[BruinDust]

Well, I'm sorry if I came on a little strong with the "baseless" term.

What about a guy like Michael Ryder? What happened there? Never had a game based on speed but suddenly couldn't play anymore ~33? Could it be that he dropped below the threshold?

I don't know about Ryder. Montreal couldn't wait to get rid of him in 2008, was a healthy scratch at times that year.

Goes to Boston, has very good year, followed by a decent year, followed by a year when he was a healthy scratch, but was one of Boston's best players over the course of 3 playoffs runs.

Pops 35 in Dallas, back to Montreal, etc. Steaky, inconsistent player, tells me a lot of his problem was between his ears, and not his physical skills. More a case of motivation rather than lack of ability. Linemates and opportunity probably also played a role, he was never a guy who created his own stuff, more or less a pure shooter.

But hey we could cite example after example until were blue in the face both in support and against. Hard to compare the drop off of a scoring winger vs. a 6'9 shut-down D-man.

 

[BNHL]

I would call Chara a number 3 defensemen now or I would attempt to play strictly matchup with him. I don't know if his game gets worse with more minutes or not,just see a player whose game has been declining for a couple of years. I would not play him on the point on the PP,due to his inability to recover. I would try him on the second unit in front. I'm sure he'll be in the 20+ range TOI once again.

 

[BigGoalBrad]

Chara could play effectively in a 3rd line sheltered low minute role until age 50 simply because NHL ice sheets are so small and crowded and hes so big with such a long stick and reach...and has the knowledge of knowing where to be from being the best at it for so long. Sad but true all you haters.

The role he can handle is debatable and with this coach and being the captain frustration that he will be over used is OK and going to happen.

 

[alko]

After few games, Chara has good numbers. +6, 2 points, 1 fight, but only 4 shots.

Cant see Bruins games, so how do you think, is he looking in the games?

 

[Mione134]

Its only been 3 games but I think he's much more engaged physically than he had been the last two seasons. He's still a bit shaky out there but I see improvement. He looks good with Carlo. It remains to be seen how he does the rest of the year, but I am pleasantly optimistic about his play.

 

[DKH]

After few games, Chara has good numbers. +6, 2 points, 1 fight, but only 4 shots.

Cant see Bruins games, so how do you think, is he looking in the games?

He's Chara 2 years ago so far. Let's face it he had his detractors when he was playing like the HOF he will be. Carlo is getting serious tutelage playing with him he has to.

He's earned every penny 3 games in. Carlo is making his job easier which is important. It has a chance to be one of best if not best shutdown pairing in the game

Yet every mistake we will hear The D is horrible