Zdeno Chara is 37-years-old and has played in 1,149 NHL regular season games. The big man was drafted by the New York Islanders in the third round of the 1996 entry draft. He has spent time on three NHL teams and has been the kind of defensemen teams have tried to copy, but as the clock continues to tick on his career I can’t help but wonder if we are seeing the beginning of the end for Chara.

Chara is no longer in the peak of his career and his numbers have dropped off over the past few years. Granted he has still put up 40 plus points nine times in his career. So the drop off

At six-foot nine and 225 pounds his body has taken a beating, and his playing style has added to that. It can’t be a shock to Bruins fans to think that Zdeno Chara’s time in Boston or the NHL is limited. The best thing for both parties may be to move Chara at next year’s trade deadline. There will be a contender willing to part with a decent amount of talent and a good draft pick for the chance to catch lightning in a bottle, and while Zdeno Chara is not the Chara of old he still has flashes of his former self.

It’s entirely possible that Chara walks away soon. The man has nothing left to prove. He has won a Stanley Cup (2011) and has a handful of Norris Trophy Finalist nominations (2004, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, and 2014). With the Bruins struggling I don’t see the same drive that was there in the past. Zdeno Chara has changed how defense is played, but he is not the same player he was only a few years ago. The time may be coming for him to fade away gracefully.