photo: © IIHF / Hockey Hall Of Fame
During the 2025 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship, short profiles of each of this year's Hall of Fame inductees will appear on IIHF.com in the build-up to the IIHF Hall of Fame weekend (May 24-25). There will be two ceremonies. The Contributors' Awards ceremony takes place on May 24, followed by the IIHF Hall of Fame Induction ceremony on May 25. Both ceremonies will be shown live on the IIHF's YouTube channel and IIHF.TV.
One of the biggest, strongest, and fiercest competitors the game has even known, Zdeno Chara represented his country with pride every opportunity he was able to, all the while playing the most games as a defenceman in NHL history. He developed with his hometown team, Dukla Trencin in Slovakia, but after being drafted 56th overall by the New York Islanders in 1996 he relocated to North America to begin a pro career. Chara played one season in the WHL and another half season in the AHL, making his NHL debut on November 19, 1997.
During his four years with the Islanders, the team never made the playoffs, and looking for more offense the Isles traded him to Ottawa in a deal which brought Alexei Yashin to Long Island. Chara developed into a top defender in Ottawa, but after four seasons the Senators had a choice: prioritize a new contract with either Wade Redden or Chara. They chose Redden, and in the summer of 2006 Chara signed as a free agent with Boston. He was named team captain, only the second Slovak to wear the “C” in the NHL after Peter Stastny.
Chara spent the next 14 years with the Bruins, joining a Boston team that was about to become a force for the next decade. With Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand up front, Chara on the blue line, and Tim Thomas and Tuukka Rask in goal, the team defeated Vancouver in seven games of the 2011 Stanley Cup finals to win their first Cup since 1972. Chara became only the second European (after Nicklas Lidstrom) to captain his team to the Cup. The team also advanced to the Cup finals in 2013 and ’19, falling just short each time.
Chara won two silver medals with Slovakia at the Men’s Worlds, in 2000 and 2012.
By the time he ended his NHL career with brief stops in Washington and back on Long Island, Chara had played more games as a defender than any other player, 1,680, and he won the Norris Trophy in 2009, again only the second European so honoured after Lidstrom.
But for all his extraordinary success in the NHL, Chara is equally remembered for his play with Slovakia’s national team. He played in three Olympics, two World Cups, and seven Men’s World Championships, most famously in 2000 and 2012. The 2000 Worlds were notable as the first great tournament for the new country called Slovakia, which had to start in C Pool in 1994 after achieving independence. In 2000, the Slovaks beat Canada, United States, and Finland en route to the gold-medal game against their neighbours, Czech Republic. Although the Czechs won, 5-3, the Slovaks had earned their first medal as an independent nation.
In 2012, the Slovaks earned a “miracle silver medal,” advancing to the gold-medal game with a lineup no one expected much from. After receiving their silver medals, captain Chara took off his sweater and donned the number 26 of the late Pavol Demitra, a longtime friend and teammate who had perished the previous fall in the Yaroslavl plane tragedy.
Chara was the flagbearer for Slovakia at the 2014 Olympics and retired in 2022 after 24 NHL seasons. His last international event came in 2016 as a member of Team Europe at the experimental World Cup, which featured six national teams and two hybrid teams (Team Europe and Team North America U24). Chara is remembered as a player who held his immense power in check, who led by example, and who played with a tenacity that matched his size. He represented his country, and the game, with pride and dignity, and his success speaks for itself.
During his four years with the Islanders, the team never made the playoffs, and looking for more offense the Isles traded him to Ottawa in a deal which brought Alexei Yashin to Long Island. Chara developed into a top defender in Ottawa, but after four seasons the Senators had a choice: prioritize a new contract with either Wade Redden or Chara. They chose Redden, and in the summer of 2006 Chara signed as a free agent with Boston. He was named team captain, only the second Slovak to wear the “C” in the NHL after Peter Stastny.
Chara spent the next 14 years with the Bruins, joining a Boston team that was about to become a force for the next decade. With Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand up front, Chara on the blue line, and Tim Thomas and Tuukka Rask in goal, the team defeated Vancouver in seven games of the 2011 Stanley Cup finals to win their first Cup since 1972. Chara became only the second European (after Nicklas Lidstrom) to captain his team to the Cup. The team also advanced to the Cup finals in 2013 and ’19, falling just short each time.
Chara won two silver medals with Slovakia at the Men’s Worlds, in 2000 and 2012.
© IIHF / Jani Rajamaki
By the time he ended his NHL career with brief stops in Washington and back on Long Island, Chara had played more games as a defender than any other player, 1,680, and he won the Norris Trophy in 2009, again only the second European so honoured after Lidstrom.But for all his extraordinary success in the NHL, Chara is equally remembered for his play with Slovakia’s national team. He played in three Olympics, two World Cups, and seven Men’s World Championships, most famously in 2000 and 2012. The 2000 Worlds were notable as the first great tournament for the new country called Slovakia, which had to start in C Pool in 1994 after achieving independence. In 2000, the Slovaks beat Canada, United States, and Finland en route to the gold-medal game against their neighbours, Czech Republic. Although the Czechs won, 5-3, the Slovaks had earned their first medal as an independent nation.
In 2012, the Slovaks earned a “miracle silver medal,” advancing to the gold-medal game with a lineup no one expected much from. After receiving their silver medals, captain Chara took off his sweater and donned the number 26 of the late Pavol Demitra, a longtime friend and teammate who had perished the previous fall in the Yaroslavl plane tragedy.
Chara was the flagbearer for Slovakia at the 2014 Olympics and retired in 2022 after 24 NHL seasons. His last international event came in 2016 as a member of Team Europe at the experimental World Cup, which featured six national teams and two hybrid teams (Team Europe and Team North America U24). Chara is remembered as a player who held his immense power in check, who led by example, and who played with a tenacity that matched his size. He represented his country, and the game, with pride and dignity, and his success speaks for itself.