Boston Bruins star Brad Marchand knows how to act better than former teammate Zdeno Chara, even though he’s now an opponent.
“No, you don’t want to poke the bear,” Marchand said.
Chara will face the Bruins as a free agent for the first time since his departure from Boston on Saturday and will sign with the Washington Capitals in the off-season. The Bruins wanted to shorten his playing time to allow younger defenders to watch longer.
Chara, 43, felt he could still be a regular contributor to the NHL, and his 14-year tenure with Boston ended with a one-year contract in DC
“I love them like my brothers,” Chara said on Friday. “We understand this is a company. We have to play for our teams and compete beyond them. But at the same time we have something that goes very deep, goes way back and we will cherish those memories.”
Marchand knows what worship the Bruins and Chara share, which do not pass to the ice.
“He’s the kind of guy where, when he’s out there, you’re an opponent. He’s not going to have any friends there. He’s going to play the game and fight and fight,” Marchand said. ‘I’m not going to poke the bear in any way. The biggest thing I can do is just skate away from him. If you come within that range or its grasp, you’re not going anywhere. ‘
Chara said he didn’t expect anything out of the ordinary from Marchand during their first meeting.
“I don’t think it will be any different,” he said. “He’s a man who will always go out to compete for his teams. I think we’ve trained a lot against each other and we’re both fighting pretty hard. I don’t expect anything else from him or anyone else.”
Chara has averaged 20:29 Ice Age per race for Washington. In eight games, he has a goal and two assists and scored his first as capital on Thursday in their victory over the New York Islanders. When asked if he has proven that he can still be a regular player instead of the spare the Bruins saw him, Chara said, “I’m just trying to focus on helping this team as best I can.”
There’s more to Saturday’s game (7:00 PM ET, ESPN +) than this emotional reunion: The Capitals are in first place in the East Division with 13 points in eight games, and Boston is close behind with 11 points in seven games.
“I don’t think it’s going to be that bad to play against the Boston Bruins. I think these are two really good teams playing for two points that are available to take tomorrow,” Chara said.
Still, it’s Zdeno Chara vs. the Boston Bruins. The former captain. The defending star. The man who first hoisted the Stanley Cup when Boston won for the first time in 39 years in 2011.
“It will be strange to see him in a different uniform,” Marchand said.