Ranking the best fits for hulking Free Agent defenseman Zdeno Chara
2. New York Rangers
Now, this would not go down well in Boston if Zdeno Chara would to head to Broadway and sign a short-term deal with the New York Rangers, an Original Six rival.
However, and while probably unlikely for a number of reasons, it would make sense for both the Rangers and for Chara himself.
Firstly, and as we mentioned in the previous slide, Chara is at that stage of his career where he’s probably got one more year left in him, maybe two at most, so he’s unlikely going to want to uproot his family too far.
Well, luckily for Chara, New York isn’t that far from Boston and it would give his family the chance to take in the delights of The Big Apple for a year or two.
From a team fit perspective, I would love to see Chara in a Rangers uniform and not just because I’m a diehard and passionate Blueshirts fan.
No, he would tick a lot of boxes for a young, talent-laden team that still possesses a few fatal flaws that need addressing.
While they are flush in skill and speed with the likes of Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, Kaapo Kakko and 2020 No. 1 overall pick Alexis Lafreniere, the Rangers lack toughness with only gritty forward Brendan Lemieux a reliable customer in that department.
Chara would help to correct that given the fact that he recorded 101 blocked shots and dished out 78 hits during the 2019-20 regular season, while he’s still capable of dropping the gloves and sticking up for his team when the occasion calls for it.
His wealth of leadership and experience would be a perfect fit in that Rangers locker room too, and he would be the perfect mentor for the likes of Adam Fox, Ryan Lindgren, Libor Hajek and K’Andre Miller.
Furthermore, Chara would be a key penalty killer for this team and I would much rather he mans a bottom pair on the backend than the likes of Brendan Smith or Jack Johnson, who I’m not convinced has a role to play for a New York Rangers roster clearly riding a rapid trajectory back towards the glory days in the NHL.
The only slight caveat is that the Rangers currently have $4,8829,367 in cap space but, according to CapFriendly, they are committed to $3,950,000 in Bonus Cushion Penalty, which doesn’t leave them with a lot of cap space to sign Chara to a deal.
But, if the man mountain of a defenseman is attracted by the chance to finish his career at Madison Square Garden and help to complete the final few steps of a swift and hugely successful rebuild, then maybe Zdeno Chara would be motivated to take less in order to be part of something special in The Big Apple.