While the majority of his time will be spent with his family, Chara did admit that he won't be completely walking away from hockey. At some point, he said, he'll decide in what capacity he might like to return to the game.
"I'm just gonna take my time right now to really be home and see how much free time I have before I can actually commit to anything," said Chara. "It'd be really unfair to myself, my family, or to whatever I decide to do hockey-wise to commit to something without knowing I can be committed 100 percent to that specific job or task.
"Just want to enjoy being with my family, my kids especially. Just want to be taking days as they come. I think if there's opportunities or there's something that will present in the future, there's always gonna be a chance to step in. But as of right now, I'm just kind of going to take some time and see how it goes."
Whenever the time comes for Chara to take on his next hockey challenge, Bruins president Cam Neely will be ready to have discussions about finding him a role within the organization.
"Yeah, I am looking forward to having that conversation with him whenever he is ready to have that conversation," said Neely. "Obviously, having Zdeno around at whatever capacity would be a huge boost to the franchise, so we'll see where it goes. Obviously, any athletes that retire, whether it's their choice or not, you still need some time to digest and kind of figure out what the next chapter is going to be. Not many have an idea of what they're doing the following day they retire. Zdeno can take the time he needs, and we'll see where it goes from there."
For now, Chara, who would normally be getting set for the opening of training camp, is ready to learn all about life without hockey.
"I'm learning it. I'm living it right now. I can't really tell you that after three months of being away from the game or not following the same routine as I used to," said Chara. "It's normal, I'm still active, and I still have that drive in me. Probably not at that level I need it or want it to for hockey; it's more for me being in shape and feeling good and feeling good about myself. That's not gonna change or ever leave. I always really enjoy being in good shape and in some capacity compete, whether that's just for me or against myself or doing some races or some stuff that I kind of like.
"I'm learning it. Basically, it's something we all are gonna have to go through. You're in such an everyday schedule-driven regime; and it's great, I loved it, I enjoyed it. But at the same time, now I don't have it, and that's OK."
