“You saw just how he prepared, how he treated the game, what it meant to him, how he treated everybody around you. That was his superpower.”
The 2025-26 Bruins won’t be calling upon the 48-year-old Chara to snuff out scoring chances or uncork blue line howitzers.
But as Boston looks to both usher in a new era and re-establish its identity under the leadership of players like McAvoy and David Pastrnak, bringing back a franchise pillar in Chara to serve as the club’s hockey operations advisor and mentor stood as a no-brainer for all parties.
“I’m excited. I’m honored to be back with the team and working with the coaching staff and management and players,” Chara said Friday after Boston wrapped up another training-camp practice. “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.”
In his new role, Chara will serve as a resource for both players and the team’s coaching staff — including first-year bench boss Marco Sturm.
Sturm — who skated alongside Chara in Boston from 2006-10 — noted that Chara’s efforts of cultivating a winning culture within the Original Six franchise endures to this day.
But as Sturm and his staff look to match those high standards with tangible on-ice results, having Chara in place as a liaison between the dressing room and the coaches’ office will be a welcome addition.
“He set the tone pretty much starting in practice,” Sturm said of Chara’s impact as captain. “You still want to have fun, whatever, but when it’s time to go and time to work, you have to get the job done. And he was the big leader in that, and [Patrice] Bergeron and [myself] — you name it, all those other guys, we followed him.
”And I think that is the message he wants to send to the McAvoys, the Pastas, and all these guys. So sometimes they get sick of me and sick of whatever. But I think he will be just another voice, I think, in our room, that maybe will push these guys forward.”
The “C” was sewn into Chara’s sweater in Boston from the day he signed in free agency in July 2006 until his exit from the club in December 2020.
The Bruins’ new leadership hierarchy isn’t as clear-cut this fall — with both McAvoy and Pastrnak standing as the top authority figures on a roster that saw its former captain, Brad Marchand, traded to Florida in March.
As both skaters look to find their footing in elevated roles, Chara is focused on helping his former teammates grow as leaders in this new chapter for the club.
“I think they’re just really good people. They care,” Chara said of McAvoy and Pastrnak. “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. If I can be, again, a help, maybe a guidance, or a little bit of mentorship in that department — to help them grow as people and as a man and as our leaders — that’s what I’m gonna do, and try to do that.”
Beyond his efforts collaborating with the current Bruins roster, Chara’s duties will also see him work with the team’s development staff and assist the club’s next wave of talent.
The 2025-26 Bruins are looking to right the ship after a disastrous 33-39-10 campaign last winter that saw them fail to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
But Boston’s chances of re-establishing itself as a sustainable contender in the coming years will also hinge on whether the Bruins can bolster their lineup with younger talent — be it James Hagens, or the multiple draft picks restocked for 2026 and beyond.
McAvoy — who first cut his teeth in the NHL skating alongside Chara on Boston’s top D pairing — believes that Chara’s presence will pay dividends for the younger players set to join the ranks in the coming years.
“He helped me grow a ton,” McAvoy said of Chara. “I did not come here as a finished product; I was certainly still developing. And he’s responsible for a lot of that — for helping me realize how important the defensive side of the game was.
“He helped me grow so much on both sides, really just by learning how to play a responsible game, which is how you play in this league for a long time. It’s how you become reliable to your teammates. And in a way, it’s how you lead.”