Zdeno Chara to retire without a farewell?!

The NHL pause is making us go crazy and has pushed James Mirtle of The Athletic to wonder if some players have played the last game of their career and will hang up the skates without a farewell. 

While he dresses a list of 15 players that could choose retirement during the pause, such as Anaheim Ducks’ Ryan Miller, Carolina Hurricanes’ Justin Williams and Minnesota Wild’s Mikko Koivu, he kicks off his analysis with one veteran player that is on everyone’s mind at the moment: Zdeno Chara. 

The Boston Bruins captain turned 43 yesterday and some fans might be wonder if he will be up to sign another one-year contract during the offseason. 

And we can already feel the crowd in Boston freaking out. 

However, Mirtle makes it clear right off the bat: he does not believe Chara will call it a career after the 2019-20 season. 

“I also expect Bruins captain Zdeno Chara will be back, too , as he’s still playing 21 minutes a night for the best team in the NHL […] and is a fitness freak. He could well be the next Jaromir Jagr – minus the whole travelling mercenary thing.”

We sure hope his assessment is true and that Chara will return to action one the pause is over and will want some more for the 2020-21 season… even if it kicks off in November.