So the 43-year-old defenseman decided to move on after 14 seasons with the Bruins, turning down their contract offer to play a reduced role this season and agreeing to a one-year, $795,000 contract with the Washington Capitals on Wednesday.
“I just felt that what was presented to me and the conditions that were attached to it, I just felt like I had more to offer,” Chara said Thursday. “And I respect their decisions and wish them the best, but I just felt like I could still play regularly and play the games. …
“I still have gas, lots of gas left, and I still want to go out there and do my thing. That’s my motivation to still prove that I can play.”
By joining the Capitals, who won the Stanley Cup in 2018 and have legitimate aspirations to do so again, Chara is embracing a new opportunity entering his 23rd NHL season and following a similar path to his friend Tom Brady. The 43-year-old quarterback left the New England Patriots after 20 NFL seasons and six Super Bowl championships to join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this season.
“I definitely see a new opportunity, new challenges,” said Chara, who confirmed he spoke with Brady about his decision. “But also, very much I’m extremely motivated and I’m looking forward to go out there and play and compete. … I think we all have to compete and play our best, and the most important thing is to win the games as a team. So just that’s where I’m at right now.
“It’s something I had to try. I didn’t want to have any regrets not to try it and not go for it.”
Chara, who is in Washington and has begun quarantining and the testing that are part of the NHL COVID-19 protocols, said he is driven to win the Stanley Cup again after reaching the Cup Final three times, winning the championship in 2011. He said he’d love to mirror the success Brady is having with the Buccaneers, who have qualified for the NFL playoffs for the first time since 2007.
Chara is in a good position to do that with the Capitals, who are in win-now mode and hoping to raise the Stanley Cup at least one more time with their aging core, which includes forwards Alex Ovechkin, 35, T.J. Oshie, 34, Nicklas Backstrom, 33, and defenseman John Carlson, who turns 31 on Jan. 10. The memory of Washington winning its first championship is beginning to fade after being eliminated in the Eastern Conference First Round the past two seasons.
“I just want to have a fair chance and compete with the guys for the Stanley Cup,” Chara said. “That’s something that is the goal, but we want to get there through the right process and through the right way.”
It’s not that Chara wouldn’t have had a chance to win the Cup again with the Bruins, who won the Presidents’ Trophy as the NHL’s top team last regular season, and general manager Don Sweeney made it clear Boston wanted him back as its captain.
However, Sweeney couldn’t guarantee anything about Chara’s playing time or role because Boston wants to give young defensemen such as Jakub Zboril, 23, Jeremy Lauzon, 23, and Urho Vaakanainen, 21, the chance to play regularly and learn on the job.
“We described it as an integrated role and just didn’t make a categorical promise that he would have the exact same role that he had had in certainly his 14 [seasons], a historic career with the Boston Bruins,” Sweeney said.
Chara said that meant he probably wouldn’t play every game and wouldn’t have been a top-pair defenseman averaging at least 20 minutes of ice time.
“It was very clear to me that I would not be in the starting lineup for the season or starting some games or playing some back-to-back games and I would be more in a reserve type of player,” Chara said. “So again, I have no issue. … A lot of credit to Don Sweeney and how he handled the situation. But again, for me, I felt that it would be a better fit for me to find a better role with another team and kind of step aside and let the Boston Bruins go the direction they chose to do.”
The Capitals haven’t guaranteed Chara anything either. He’ll likely play on their third defense pair and with their first unit on the penalty kill as well as provide valuable veteran leadership.
But after Washington first expressed interest a few days ago, Chara said he liked what he heard in his conversation with coach Peter Laviolette and was ready to jump aboard.
“I just saw this opportunity that I didn’t want to pass on,” Chara said. “So I just decided it would be a good fit for me and my family and I went for it.”
Montreal Alouettes wide receiver Tyson Philpot has announced he will be out for the rest of the CFL season.
The Delta, B.C., native posted the news on his Instagram page Thursday.
“To Be Continued. Shoutout my team, the fans of the CFL and the whole city of Montreal! I can’t wait to be back healthy and write this next chapter in 2025,” the statement read.
Philpot, 24, injured his foot in a 33-23 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Aug. 10 and was placed on the six-game injured list the next week.
The six-foot-one, 195-pound receiver had 58 receptions, 779 yards and five touchdowns in nine games for the league-leading Alouettes in his third season.
Philpot scored the game-winning touchdown in Montreal’s Grey Cup win last season to punctuate a six-reception, 63-yard performance.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
NAPA, Calif. (AP) — David Lipsky shot a 7-under 65 on Thursday at Silverado Country Club to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Procore Championship.
Winless in 104 events since joining the PGA Tour in 2022, Lipsky went out with the early groups and had eight birdies with one bogey to kick off the FedEx Cup Fall series at the picturesque course in the heart of Napa Valley wine country.
After missing the cut in his three previous tournaments, Lipsky flew from Las Vegas to Arizona to reunite with his college coach at Northwestern to get his focus back. He also spent time playing with some of the Northwestern players, which helped him relax.
“Just being around those guys and seeing how carefree they are, not knowing what’s coming for them yet, it’s sort of nice to see that,” Lipsky said. “I was almost energized by their youthfulness.”
Patton Kizzire and Mark Hubbard were a stroke back. Kizzire started on the back nine and made a late run with three consecutive birdies to move into a tie for first. A bogey on No. 8 dropped him back.
“There was a lot of good stuff out there today,” Kizzire said. “I stayed patient and just went through my routines and played well, one shot at a time. I’ve really bee working hard on my mental game and I think that allowed me to rinse and repeat and reset and keep playing.”
Mark Hubbard was at 67. He had nine birdies but fell off the pace with a bogey and triple bogey on back-to-back holes.
Kevin Dougherty also was in the group at 67. He had two eagles and ended his afternoon by holing out from 41 yards on the 383-yard, par-4 18th.
Defending champion Sahith Theegala had to scramble for much of his round of 69.
Wyndham Clark, who won the U.S. Open in 2023 and the AT&T at Pebble Beach in February, had a 70.
Max Homa shot 71. The two-time tournament champion and a captain’s pick for the President’s Cup in two weeks had two birdies and overcame a bogey on the par-4 first.
Stewart Cink, the 2020 winner, also opened with a 71. He won The Ally Challenge last month for his first PGA Tour Champions title.
Three players from the Presidents Cup International team had mix results. Min Woo Lee shot 68, Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., 69 and Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., 73. International team captain Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., also had a 69.
Ben Silverman of Thornhill, Ont., had a 68, Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., and Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C., shot 70 and Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., had a 71.
Lipsky was a little shaky off the tee for much of the afternoon but made up for it with steady iron play that left him in great shape on the greens. He had one-putts on 11 holes and was in position for a bigger day but left five putts short.
Lipsky’s only real problem came on the par-4 ninth when his approach sailed into a bunker just shy of the green. He bounced back nicely with five birdies on his back nine. After missing a 19-foot putt for birdie on No. 17, Lipsky ended his day with a 12-foot par putt.
That was a big change from last year when Lipsky tied for 30th at Silverado when he drove the ball well but had uneven success on the greens.
“Sometimes you have to realize golf can be fun, and I think I sort of forgot that along the way as I’m grinding it out,” Lipsky said. “You’ve got to put things in perspective, take a step back. Sort of did that and it seems like it’s working out.”
Laird stayed close after beginning his day with a bogey on the par-4 10th. The Scot got out of the sand nicely but pushed his par putt past the hole.
Homa continued to have issues off the tee and missed birdie putts on his final four holes.
GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic is moving on to the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open.
The Mississauga, Ont., native defeated the tournament top seed, Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) in the round of 16 on Thursday.
Stakusic faced a 0-4 deficit in the third and final set before marching back into the match.
The 19-year-old won five of the next six games to even it up before exchanging games to force a tiebreaker, where Stakusic took complete control to win the match.
Stakusic had five aces with 17 double faults in the three-hour, four-minute match.
However, she converted eight of her 18 break-point opportunities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
