Zdeno Chara Drawing Interest from Surprise Eastern Conference Team
A couple of weeks ago, Toronto-based journalist Steve Simmons reported that Zdeno Chara's career was likely headed to an end. It all made sense, he really struggled last season at the age of 45, and he has led an extraordinary career. Even still, reports have it that he is drawing interest from at least one team, which could be enough to lure him back for another season.
Arthur Staple -- New York Rangers' correspondent with The Athletic -- reports that Chara could be a potential PTO candidate for the team, as they look to reinforce their defense; affordably, anyway.
Chara is a veteran of almost 1,700 NHL games, and he has a Stanley Cup. Everything the Rangers could want, he does have. He would not have to play every night, which is probably for the best, and his leadership could pay off exponentially in the Rangers' locker room. However, there is a ceiling on what you can expect from him on the ice, but New York's defense is strong enough it might not matter.
After falling in seven games to the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Rangers head into '22-23 with a cup-or-bust mentality, and bolstering the defense is never a bad move. Still, it seemed as though Chara would retire just a couple weeks ago, and now he is drawing interest.
| POLL | ||
SEPTEMBRE 12 | 207 ANSWERS Zdeno Chara Drawing Interest from Surprise Eastern Conference Team Will Chara play another year or retire? | ||
| Play another year | 97 | 46.9 % |
| Retire | 110 | 53.1 % |
| LIST OF POLLS | ||
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Zachary Werenski | 2 | 3 | 5 | |
| Sean Monahan | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
| Jesper Bratt | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Frederick Gaudreau | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Jack Hughes | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Nikita Kucherov | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Mackenzie Weegar | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Kent Johnson | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Alexander Wennberg | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Mitchell Chaffee | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Anthony Cirelli | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Matthew Coronato | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Marcus Foligno | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Nick Foligno | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Conor Geekie | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Brandon Hagel | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Stefan Noesen | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Corey Perry | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Igor Sharangovich | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Dmitry Voronkov | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 19 | 16 | 3 | - | 32 | |
Wild | 19 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 29 | |
Hurricanes | 19 | 14 | 5 | - | 28 | |
Devils | 22 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 28 | |
Capitals | 19 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 27 | |
Golden Knights | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Maple Leafs | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Rangers | 18 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 25 | |
Panthers | 20 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 25 | |
Flames | 20 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 25 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||