Chara, who agreed to a one-year contract with the Washington Capitals this offseason, returned to face the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on Wednesday.
The 6-foot-9 defenseman, the tallest player in NHL history, played 14 seasons for the Bruins and helped them win the Stanley Cup in 2011.
The Bruins put together a touching tribute video, featuring career highlights from his time on and off the ice in Boston. The team sprinkled in thank you messages from fans, who were not able to be in the building do to ongoing COVID-19 precautions.
"I felt a little bad for him that there wasn't 18,000-plus fans here giving him the ovation he deserved, to be honest with you," Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. "That would've been a real nice thing for him, but obviously that's not able to be done right now with the circumstances, so too bad for him."
Both teams stopped and tapped their sticks in recognition of Chara's return while the video played.