It really is a weird thing to consider, isn’t it? Zdeno Chara, suiting up for a different team.
The nitpickers among you (and there are plenty) will point out “WELL ACTUALLY HE’S ALREADY PLAYED FOR OTHER TEAMS,” but you get the point.
Chara has presided over a wildly successful run for the Bruins as a franchise, arguably the most successful since the invention of the Internet.
And this is how it ends?
To get this out of the way, it’s unlikely that Chara’s departure makes or breaks the Bruins’ 2021 season. Their fate, as it usually is, will be decided by goaltending and secondary scoring.
But the idea, being put forth by many, that Chara didn’t have any value on this team or that the Bruins somehow deserve credit for cutting bait is insane.
Zdeno Chara is no longer elite. He’s no longer a top-pairing defenseman, nor is he a guy who can play 20+ minutes a night.
And in the present, Chara is still better than John Moore. He’s better than Urho Vaakanainen, better than Jakub Zboril, better than Jack Ahcan.
Too many people are getting caught up in the whole “youth movement” idea, as if a player being younger automatically makes him better.
“Well you’re just getting caught up in nostalgia,” you type in the comments. “He was bad in the playoffs.”
He was! You’re absolutely correct. You know who else was bad? Patrice Bergeron. And Charlie Coyle. And Torey Krug.
Oddly enough, those guys were injured, or in a slump, or just had trouble getting started after the bubble.
But for Chara, it was age catching up to him. “Father Time,” you say. “He just doesn’t have it anymore. He was bad in the bubble, so clearly he won’t be able to handle a compressed season.”
What this conveniently ignores is that during the regular season prior to the shutdown, Chara was playing some of his best hockey of the past few seasons. Again, not at an elite level – but at an effective level, including against the opposition’s top talent.
Many of you will deny this now, and that’s fine. But you’re letting a bad playoff run cloud your memory of what came before it.
“He’s slow! The game has passed him by!”
I’m not sure how to break this to you, but speed has never been one of Chara’s strengths, even in his Norris days.
He’s a player who was effective due to positioning, smarts, and reach…things that don’t really get worse with age.
What makes this decision especially puzzling is the fact that the Bruins have elected to go with a youth movement on defense during what, by most accounts, is likely their last serious kick at the can.
Their #1 goalie is likely gone after this season. Their #2 center is likely gone as well. If those problems with secondary scoring were bad before, just wait!
To me, this move would have made a whole lot more sense after this coming season. It’d be a tacit admission of “look, we have to start looking to the future, even if it means a lean year.”
But why now, when everyone seems to be in agreement that the Bruins’ Stanley Cup window is rapidly closing (if not already slammed shut)?
There are ways out of this for Don Sweeney, and I suppose it’s important to hear what he has to say tomorrow morning.
If, for example, the Bruins told Chara he’d need to accept third-pairing minutes and the real possibility of being on the 9th Floor at times and he declined, then fine – Sweeney did what he had to do.
If Sweeney has another move in place (it’s been rumored that the Bruins have been active on the D trade market), then cool!
But the idea that the Bruins had to cut bait with Chara because he wouldn’t accept a lesser role seems insane to me – he’s been a model citizen for a decade and a half, and knows he’s running out of chances for another Cup.
The idea that you can’t have your captain playing on the third pairing is similarly laughable. You look to your captain for leadership, not headlines. There are few better examples of sports leadership than accepting a lesser role for the good of the team.
In the end, however, it is what it is. The Bruins have decided to pin their hopes on a left side of their defense anchored by John Moore and Matt Grzelcyk, or they have a trade coming. I suppose we just have to wait and see.
The Bruins, as currently constructed, are not better without Zdeno Chara than they were with him. And for a team in “win now” mode to go that route willingly is pretty puzzling.
Chara will likely be a shell of what we remember him as in Washington, but they know what they’re getting: an experienced defenseman who can contribute in a reduced role on a team with a closing window.
It’s a shame that the Bruins didn’t see it the same way.
DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Red Wings signed forward Lucas Raymond to an eight-year, $64.6 million contract Monday, completing a deal with one of their best young players less than 72 hours before training camp begins.
Raymond will count $8.075 million against the salary cap through 2032. The 22-year-old was a restricted free agent without a contract for the upcoming NHL season and was coming off setting career highs with 31 goals, 41 assists and 72 points.
The Red Wings have another one of those in defenceman Moritz Seider, who won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in 2021-22.
Detroit is looking to end an eight-year playoff drought dating to the Original Six franchise’s last appearance in 2016.
Raymond, a Swede who was the fourth pick in 2020, has 174 points in 238 games since breaking into the league.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Kirk Cousins led a flawless last-minute drive for Atlanta and connected with Drake London for a 7-yard touchdown with 34 seconds left to give the Falcons a 22-21 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night.
Saquon Barkley dropped a short pass that stopped the clock with 1:46 left and forced the Eagles to settle for a field goal instead of a game-sealing first down. That was plenty of time for Cousins — especially against an Eagles defense playing soft coverage with a nonexistent pass rush.
The 36-year-old veteran, playing his second game since tearing his Achilles tendon last Oct. 29 while playing for Minnesota, shook off an uneven effort and hit Darnell Mooney for 21 and 26 yards on consecutive plays during the decisive drive.
Cousins found London on a short pass to his right for the tying score, and Younghoe Koo put Atlanta (1-1) on top with a 48-yard extra point after London was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct. The go-ahead drive took just 65 seconds.
Jalen Hurts had his final pass intercepted by Jessie Bates III to seal Atlanta’s win and set off a wild celebration on the sideline.
The Eagles (1-1) went ahead on Hurts’ 1-yard tush push score with 6:47 left. Barkley finished with 95 yards on 22 carries in his home debut for Philadelphia, but his drop provided the Falcons with some hope.
And then Cousins started playing like the QB Atlanta thought it was getting when it signed him to a four-year, $180 million contract.
Cousins finished 20 of 29 for 241 yards and two touchdowns. Atlanta’s first TD was a 41-yarder from Cousins to Mooney, who finished with three catches for 88 yards.
Hurts was 23 of 30 for 183 yards, including a touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith. With No. 1 receiver A.J. Brown out with a hamstring injury, Smith led the Eagles with seven catches for 76 yards and a score.
Jake Elliott kicked two field goals for the Eagles. His 28-yarder with 1:39 left made it 21-15.
Atlanta kept stalling in the red zone, getting three field goals from Koo, before Cousins fired over the middle to Mooney, who shook loose from C.J. Gardner-Johnson and left him on the turf before he somersaulted into the end zone with 1:21 left in the third quarter for a 15-10 lead. Cousins failed on the 2-point conversion pass.
Hurts had some juice in his step during a second-quarter TD drive, running with abandon for big plays much like he did in the 2022 season. He spiked the ball in a rare, raw show of emotion on a 23-yard run, earning a delay-of-game penalty. He shrugged off the 5-yard setback and scrambled for 9 yards and 15 yards to move the Eagles to Atlanta’s 19.
With comedian Shane Gillis and actor Bradley Cooper among the fans cheering on the Eagles, Hurts connected with Smith in the back of the end zone for a 7-yard TD that made it 7-3.
Under new defensive coordinator Vince Fangio, the Eagles have established an early knack for allowing long drives that end with three points instead of seven. Koo kicked field goals of 39, 22 and 34 yards, the last one enough for a 9-7 lead in the third quarter. In their opener, the Eagles held the Packers to just three field goals when they drove inside the 20.
Questionable call
Rather than take a chip-shot field goal from Elliott, the Eagles’ fourth-and-4 gamble at Atlanta’s 9-yard line in the first quarter failed when Hurts threw an incomplete pass.
Elliott kicked a 29-yarder with 4:31 left in the third quarter for a 10-9 lead.
Running wild
Bijan Robinson ran for 97 yards for the Falcons. The Eagles stuffed him late on fourth-and-1 at the Atlanta 39.
Barkley was quiet until the go-ahead drive, a week after he rushed for 109 yards and scored three touchdowns against Green Bay. Eagles fans booed when the opening drive of the game ended without Barkley touching the ball. They went wild when he had consecutive 9-yard runs to open the second drive. Barkley had 40 yards rushing in the first half.
Foles honored
Former Eagles QB Nick Foles, who led the franchise to its only Super Bowl title, served as an honorary captain and led the crowd in a rendition of “Fly, Eagles, Fly.”
Injuries
The Falcons played without LB Nate Landman (calf, quad).
Up next
Atlanta hosts Super Bowl champion Kansas City on Sunday.
TORONTO – Singles star Leylah Fernandez and doubles specialist Gabriela Dabrowski will anchor Canada’s five-player lineup when the team tries to defend its Billie Jean King Cup title in mid-November.
The 26th-ranked Fernandez, the 2021 U.S. Open finalist from Laval, Que., is the lone Canadian in the top 100 of the WTA Tour’s singles rankings.
Dabrowski, from Ottawa, is ranked fourth on the doubles list. The 2023 U.S. Open women’s doubles champion won mixed doubles bronze with Felix Auger-Aliassime at the recent Paris Olympics.
Marina Stakusic of Mississauga, Ont., returns after a breakout performance last year, capped by her singles win in Canada’s 2-0 victory over Italy in the final. Vancouver’s Rebecca Marino is also back and Bianca Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion from Mississauga, Ont., returns to the squad for the first time since 2022.
“Winning the Billie Jean King Cup in 2023 was a dream come true for us, and not only that, but I feel like we made a statement to the world about the strength of this nation when it comes to tennis,” Canada captain Heidi El Tabakh said Monday in a release. “Once again, we have a very strong team this year with Bianca joining Leylah, Gaby, Rebecca and Marina, making it an extremely powerful team that is more than capable of going all the way.
“At the end of the day, our goal is to make Canada proud, and we’ll do our best to bring the same level of effort and excitement that we had in last year’s finals.”
Fernandez, who beat Jasmine Paolini to clinch Canada’s first-ever title at the competition, is ranked No. 42 in doubles.
Canada, which received an automatic berth as defending champion, will play the winner of the first-round tie between Great Britain and Germany on Nov. 17 at Malaga’s Martin Carpena Arena.
Australia, Italy and wild-card entry Czechia also received first-round byes. The tournament, which continues through Nov. 20, also includes host Spain, Slovakia, the United States, Poland, Japan and Romania.
Stakusic is up 27 spots to No. 128 in the latest world singles rankings. Marino is at No. 134 and Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion, is ranked 167th.
Canada will look to become the first team since Czechia in 2016 to successfully defend its Billie Jean King Cup title.
Malaga will also host the Nov. 19-24 Davis Cup Final 8. The Canadian men qualified over the weekend with a 2-1 victory over Great Britain in Manchester.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
