Chara talks new role with Bruins, marathon training in Q&A with NHL.com

In NHL.com's Q&A feature called "Sitting Down with …" we talk to key figures in the game, gaining insight into their lives on and off the ice. In this edition, we feature Zdeno Chara, the Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman and Boston Bruins hockey operations adviser and mentor.

BOSTON -- It is difficult for Zdeno Chara to stay still.

Though he no longer patrols the blue line for the Boston Bruins -- or any other NHL team -- the defenseman, who was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame this year, remains in constant motion. He's either training for an IRONMAN -- a pursuit that makes him "truly happy" -- consulting with the Bruins front office, visiting prospects in the American Hockey League, or working on his off-ice entrepreneurial endeavors, including a new app.

It's a whirlwind of a life that works for him, as he continues to adjust to life after a playing career that ended with the 2021-22 season back in the place it all started, with the New York Islanders.

He has returned to the team with which he played his most famous and most productive seasons, the 14 years he captained the Bruins, with whom he won the 2011 Stanley Cup. He is learning on the go trying to help the Bruins enter a post-Chara, post-Patrice Bergeron, post-Brad Marchand future.

And he's enjoying every minute.

"I love being around," Chara said. "I have so much passion for the game and being in the room with players and being connected with coaches and management. I'm learning from every role pretty much something."

Chara has been left to structure his own schedule, without set times to be at games or at practices, but he's trying to show his face, to get to know the inner workings of an organization that now has only three players with whom he once shared the ice, David Pastrnak, Sean Kuraly, and one-time defense partner Charlie McAvoy.

"When the team is home, I'm here every practice," he said. "I want to be here. I want to be present. I want to be with the group as much as I can. I know as a player when you had somebody not [there], it's just not working, it's not the same. So, I want to be here for the coaches, players, whoever needs me, and then when the team is away I go see prospects or go see college games, go see Providence guys, try to help out there and to just give feedback when I see something."

Chara sat down with NHL.com recently to talk about his new role with the Bruins, how he's finding life after hockey, and some off-ice pursuits that have him excited.

How have you found your new role with the Bruins?

"I have to say I'm happy to be back. Honestly, I am. I really enjoy being around and learning. I'm learning again, something that in a way I understood, but now [I'm] learning there is a lot more behind the scenes and preparation and work that goes into helping players, helping the team, making connections, making sure that guys understand what we're asking from them."

What has been the most eye-opening part?

"I still like trying to understand better the analytics of the game. There is so much now, the data and stats that people are tracking and you're getting feedback, so that is one thing I need to learn a lot more about. But just understanding that every player is different, everybody has a different personality, you have to approach them differently. But the biggest thing is just to listen. You have to listen to what they're saying, how they're saying it, understand their feelings, understand what they need and find the solution how to help. That's a lot of times not easy, but so far it's been really fun, finding ways to try and help."

Do you have a desire to end up in coaching or management?

"Right now, no. I feel very comfortable right now. I can't commit to full time because I want to be with my kids and present with my family, but I don't know what the future will hold. Right now, I'm really comfortable and I love what I do. I honestly love coming to the rink, I love being with the guys and sharing my experiences and sharing my advice, so right now I'm really good where I'm at. Honestly, I don't seek any titles. I have no ego to go somewhere like upstairs or on the bench. I just feel really good where I'm at."

What has IRONMAN and marathon training done for you, post-career?

"It makes me happy. It really does. As much as the amount of time and training that goes into it is way more than hockey -- way more -- there is something about it, when I go and sign up for the race and I do the races, it's just so hard. That's probably what draws me to it because it's such a badass sport. Doing IRONMANs is not a joke. When you do them it's like you complete them and you're kind of sitting there and you're all exhausted and you're beat up, but it's the feeling of the satisfaction of completing training, training paying off, meeting people, being in that atmosphere. Like, I'm hunting it. I want it. And the feeling of afterwards, it's like I'm truly happy. I'm truly satisfied. I think satisfaction is more the word. You are also happy afterwards, maybe two weeks later, when you can walk again."

Was that something necessary for you to find after your career?

"I don't think I could just be sitting at home and doing nothing. That's how it started -- I was just doing a little bit of running, a little bit of biking, then I started swimming, then started signing up for small triathlons, then bigger, then Olympic, then half, and then boom, next thing you know, you're training for a full IRONMAN."

What else are you working on now?

"About three years ago, I got together with a friend of mine who I met probably eight, nine years ago at Harvard Innovation Lab. I was doing some leadership speaking over there and after I retired, I took a whole bunch of courses, but I knew I wanted to be entering the entrepreneurship side. I thought it would be cool to do something hands on with some startup or something and I reached out to him. … I said if you know a good team, a good startup team, I would love to join them and just learn. He's like, well, I've been brainstorming and working on this idea, come in my lab, we can meet."

What was the idea?

"It came up watching NFL players doing a cast, watching a game and talking to each other. He said, how awesome that idea would be for fans to have a similar kind of experience. You can be sitting at home but listening instead of to the play-by-play, you're listening to somebody you admire -- a celebrity, your favorite person, media, or whatever it is -- and so that's how it all started to develop. And now we have a platform called Castable, the Castable app. We developed this audio platform where you can log in either as a listener or a caster -- you can create your own cast and monetize it.

"We did a whole bunch of studies in the last two years and what we found from all the interviews and tracking people that 80 percent of people are watching sports alone most of the time. … So, this is a great opportunity for people to connect."

Will you be doing any casts?

"Yeah, I'll do some. We already did some testing, I did a few, just among family, friends, and people really loved it."