Chara not considering retirement from Bruins, NHL after playoffs

Zdeno Chara isn't approaching the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs as if it's going to be his last.

Chara, who will be an unrestricted free agent after this season, said Saturday he has not yet determined when his NHL career will end. Instead, he's focused on the Stanley Cup Qualifiers with the Boston Bruins.

"I honestly just try to stay where my feet are," the 43-year-old defenseman said. "I'm focusing on how I'm going to be playing and performing and I'm open minded. We'll see what's going to happen. But as of right now, I'm just really focusing on my performances."

Chara, the Bruins captain since Oct. 3, 2006, signed one-year contracts in March in each of the past two seasons -- his 2019-20 contact was for $2 million with $1.75 million in performance bonuses -- but has not yet done so this season. The NHL season was paused March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus.

The Bruins will leave Sunday for Toronto, the Eastern Conference hub city, where they'll play the Philadelphia Flyers (Aug. 2), Tampa Bay Lightning (Aug. 5) and Washington Capitals (Aug. 9) at Scotiabank Arena in a round-robin to determine seeding for the playoffs.

Boston has an exhibition game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on July 30 (7 p.m. ET; NHLN, TVAS, FS-O, NESN, NHL.TV).

Chara averaged 21:01 of ice time in his 22nd NHL season, the lowest since his first full season (18:54) with the New York Islanders in 1998-99. He remains one of the best shutdown defensemen in the NHL, scored 14 points (five goals, nine assists), and played on the top pair with Charlie McAvoy, part of a defense that allowed an NHL-low 2.39 goals per game.

Forward Brad Marchand, who has played with Chara for 11 seasons, said he doesn't see him leaving the game anytime soon.

"I really don't," Marchand said. "He just seems like that guy who will play forever. I think you kind of get a sense when a guy's going to wrap it up and he just doesn't have that attitude."

Chara continues to impress his teammates with his commitment on the ice and in the weight room.

"He's still doing more than everybody," Marchand said. "He still wants to win more than anyone. … Whenever it comes up, he's always talked about [playing] more years and playing [until] he's 70, which I think is like two years away.

"So yeah, I really don't. I think he's going to play longer, and he still has a lot more to give. He's still one of the best defensemen in the League. So I can't see him walking away from the game yet."