Zdeno Chára is not exactly working out well for the Bruins...

The Overrated, Overpaid Chára

Zdeno Chára came to the Boston Bruins in the off-season before the 2006-07 season. Made out to be the new leader on a club that traded away the NHL’s most valuable player in Joe Thornton the year before, the Bruins panicked once again, making Chára the highest paid player on their team.

A hefty contract worth $37.5 million over five years enticed the free agent Chára to leave the Ottawa Senators, a team that looked to be a few puzzle pieces short of a Stanley Cup winner, to join a rebuilding Boston group that was viewed as successful if they could avoid the Eastern Conference basement.

The tallest defenseman in NHL history at 6’9,” Chára was handed the captain responsibilities of the black and gold, replacing a vacancy left by Thornton went he was sent to San Jose in what should be deemed the worst trade in the history of professional sports. Now, the Bruins had locked up a defensive defenseman with mediocre offensive skills handing the most overrated player in the league $7.5 million annually.

“Z” finished his rookie campaign with Boston earning .54 points per game, appearing in 80 contests for the Northeast division’s last place squad and the Eastern Conference’s 13th ranked team. After finishing with a positive plus/minus in every season since joining Ottawa in 2001-02, Chára returned to his Islander days, posting a -21 with the Bruins, good enough for fifth worst on the Bruins.

While the self-proclaimed “Hub of Hockey” and their fans waited for Chára to emerge as the team leader and player he once was for the dominant Senators, he continued to look more and more like 6’7” defenseman Hal Gill, who Boston fans were happy to see depart via free agency.

Coming into this year, most expected a breakout sophomore season in Boston for the 30-year old Chára, but through 18 games he has been no different than he was a year ago. With one goal and nine assists a quarter of the way through the 82-game schedule, Chára is sitting with a +2 rating while the B’s stay afloat the .500 mark due to extraordinary play from their underappreciated goaltender, Tim Thomas.

As Chára continues to lead Boston in ice time, new holes in his game pop up with each shift exposing his poor play. “Z” has struggled to produce on the power play, an area he usually excels in, racking up only five points to date, while his days of being an enforcer in the league seem to be over as well with just two fighting majors under his belt so far.

It is possible that Chára put himself into a no-win situation, joining young, inexperienced club who had lost their franchise player while trading away the rest of their offensive talent in the process, but his play after 96 games with Boston has been extremely poor and there is no argument he has yet to earn his $37.5 million deal. If the first two lines for the Bruins can finally click this season and they get a few bounces their way along the road, you might just see the Boston Bruins back in the playoff picture. But without Zdeno Chára playing the way the world of hockey saw him in an Ottawa uniform, you can add him to the list of free agents who turned out to be nothing more than busts.

Dangler of the Week

Ilya Kovalchuk leads the league in goals (17) and he is doing his best to lead in points as well. Kovalchuk tallied seven points in three games this past week including three against Florida (1-2), two against Carolina (1-1), and another pair against Tampa Bay (1-1). Kovalchuk now has 29 points, fourth in the NHL.

Bender of the Week

Eric Staal recorded no points in three games this week as his Hurricanes dropped two of the contests. Staal has been a key part to the Carolina offense once again with 21 points (12-9) in 21 games, but needs to not have lapses like the one he is currently in (0 points in four games) as his last tally came against Atlanta on November 10th. Staal was also -2 on the week, which did not help his cause to stay away from the bender title.