Bruins excited to have Chara back around team, ‘he has so much to offer’

“There’s so many alumni here that you can see what it means to them to have been a Bruin, to be a Bruin, and a lot of guys that come back, it’s full circle, right?” McAvoy said. “It’s amazing. Guys like that don’t grow on trees. The experience that he has, the person he is, the leader, to have him here is going to be extremely impactful on all of us.”

Chara, for his part, is ready for the new challenge, working with the team with which he won the 2011 Stanley Cup and with which he solidified his candidacy for the Hockey Hall of Fame, which he will enter this year.

“Definitely I’m excited,” he said. “I’m honored to be back with the team and working with the coaching staff, management and players. It’s definitely something new, something that I know I can bring a lot, but at the same time I’ll be learning a lot too.”

One area in which the Bruins are anticipating Chara helping is on the leadership side. With the trade of Brad Marchand before the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline, the Bruins are without a captain now and potentially through the season.

Pastrnak and McAvoy jointly are filling the void.

“I’m just another asset they can use, to pick the brain, to help, to give them the advice on certain situations,” Chara said. “First and foremost I think they are just really good people. They care. Everybody knows they’re amazing players. I think they have good intentions and it just takes a little bit of time to grow into that role, to feel comfortable, and we all went through it. Just if I can be a help, maybe guidance, or a little bit of mentorship in that department to help them grow as people and as [men] and as leaders, that’s what I’m going to do.”

Chara spent last season around the Bruins in an informal role, attending meetings, interacting with players, listening in, figuring out ways in which he might be able to aid the organization.

Now his role is defined in a way he believes he can contribute the most.

“This is all about communication, being open with each other and having the transparency with players and the coaches and we all work for the same goal, just to improve and get the maximum potential and performance from our team, from the hockey club,” Chara said.

On a team making the jump from its past starts to its future core, that could be all the more important.

“He loves the game, he loves the Bruins culture, I would say, and we just want to take advantage,” Sturm said. “So it’s nice to have that back.”