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Photo of Zdeno Chara

Zdeno Chara

#33 · Defence · New York Islanders · Hockey Hall of Fame

Born Mar 18, 1977 in Trencin, SVK · 6'9", 250 lb · Shoots left · Drafted 56th overall in 1996 by NYI (round 3)

Trophy case

Stanley Cup NHL Champion 2010-11
Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award Leadership and Growing the Game 2010-11

Compare with a similar player

The defencemen closest to him in points in 2018-19. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Olli Maatta PIT · 14 P in 60 GP Jake McCabe BUF · 14 P in 59 GP Nikita Zadorov COL · 14 P in 70 GP Calvin de Haan CAR · 14 P in 74 GP Trevor van Riemsdyk CAR · 14 P in 78 GP

Career

Regular season games only. Pick a season to see its game log below. Cap hit is what he counted against the salary cap that season, where it is known.

020401997-98: 1 points197-981998-99: 8 points81999-00: 11 points1199-002000-01: 9 points92001-02: 23 points2301-022002-03: 39 points392003-04: 41 points4103-042005-06: 43 points432006-07: 43 points4306-072007-08: 51 points512008-09: 50 points5008-092009-10: 44 points442010-11: 44 points4410-112011-12: 52 points522012-13: 19 points1912-132013-14: 40 points402014-15: 20 points2014-152015-16: 37 points372016-17: 29 points2916-172017-18: 24 points242018-19: 14 points1418-192019-20: 14 points142020-21: 10 points1020-212021-22: 14 points14

Points by season. The darker bar is the season shown below.

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Cap hit
1997-98 NYI 25 0 1 1 1 50 10 52 0.04
1998-99 NYI 59 2 6 8 -8 83 56 214 0.14
1999-00 NYI 65 2 9 11 -27 57 47 309 0.17
2000-01 NYI 82 2 7 9 -27 157 83 373 0.11
2001-02 OTT 75 10 13 23 30 156 105 299 0.31
2002-03 OTT 74 9 30 39 29 116 168 74 0.53
2003-04 OTT 79 16 25 41 33 147 185 239 0.52
2005-06 OTT 71 16 27 43 17 135 212 224 0.61 $1.862M
2006-07 BOS 80 11 32 43 -21 100 204 203 0.54 $7.5M
2007-08 BOS 77 17 34 51 14 114 207 223 0.66 $7.5M
2008-09 BOS 80 19 31 50 23 95 216 169 0.63 $7.5M
2009-10 BOS 80 7 37 44 19 87 242 151 0.55 $7.5M
2010-11 BOS 81 14 30 44 33 88 264 153 0.54 $7.5M
2011-12 BOS 79 12 40 52 33 86 224 166 0.66 $6.5M
2012-13 BOS 48 7 12 19 14 70 119 101 0.40 $6.917M
2013-14 BOS 77 17 23 40 25 66 168 163 0.52 $6.917M
2014-15 BOS 63 8 12 20 0 42 138 125 0.32 $6.917M
2015-16 BOS 80 9 28 37 12 71 158 134 0.46 $6.917M
2016-17 BOS 75 10 19 29 18 59 136 130 0.39 $6.917M
2017-18 BOS 73 7 17 24 22 60 144 141 0.33 $4M
2018-19 BOS 62 5 9 14 22 57 99 81 0.23 $5M
2019-20 BOS 68 5 9 14 26 60 86 78 0.21 $2M
2020-21 WSH 55 2 8 10 5 44 67 88 0.18 $795K
2021-22 NYI 72 2 12 14 8 85 81 125 0.19 $750K
24 seasons Career 1680 209 471 680 301 2085 3419 4015 0.40

Playoffs

Playoff games only. Pick a season to see that year's bracket.

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP
2001-02 OTT 10 0 1 1 4 12 17 40 0.10
2002-03 OTT 18 1 6 7 3 14 32 52 0.39
2003-04 OTT 7 1 1 2 3 8 12 26 0.29
2005-06 OTT 10 1 3 4 0 23 17 29 0.40
2007-08 BOS 7 1 1 2 -1 12 14 21 0.29
2008-09 BOS 11 1 3 4 1 12 28 37 0.36
2009-10 BOS 13 2 5 7 1 29 34 39 0.54
2010-11 BOS 24 2 7 9 16 34 62 56 0.38
2011-12 BOS 7 1 2 3 -1 8 21 26 0.43
2012-13 BOS 22 3 12 15 7 20 55 72 0.68
2013-14 BOS 12 2 2 4 4 14 22 45 0.33
2016-17 BOS 6 0 1 1 -3 2 8 36 0.17
2017-18 BOS 12 1 2 3 7 4 26 36 0.25
2018-19 BOS 23 2 4 6 11 16 21 57 0.26
2019-20 BOS 10 0 1 1 -2 8 11 24 0.10
2020-21 WSH 5 0 0 0 1 2 5 10 0.00
16 seasons Playoffs 197 18 51 69 51 218 385 606 0.35

2018-19 season totals

GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Shooting % Avg TOI
62 5 9 14 22 57 99 81 0.23 5.1 21:05

Contract

$5MCap hit2018-19
$357KCap dollars per point14 points in 62 games
$1.042MCap dollars per goal above replacement4.8 goals above replacement
$3.9MWorth at the going ratewhat teams paid for a season like his
-$1.1MValueworth minus cap hit; below zero is overpaid

His cap hit for the whole season, set against what he did in the regular season. Lower is better value. In a season still being played the cost per point starts high and falls as the games add up. Value is coloured by where it ranks among the 696 ranked skaters whose contract is known. How value is worked out.

The contract

Who signed him to it, and when, are not on record. When it ends is not known.

Contracts he has signed

Signed Signed by Kind Seasons Years In all Cap hit
2020-21 to 2021-22 $795K
2019-20 to 2019-20 $2M
2018-19 to 2018-19 $5M
2017-18 to 2017-18 $4M
2012-13 to 2016-17 $6.917M
2011-12 to 2017-18 $6.5M
2006-07 to 2010-11 $7.5M
2005-06 to 2005-06 $1.862M

Every contract on record for him, newest first, with the team that signed him to it and the day it was signed. The one covering 2018-19 is marked. An extension is signed while the contract before it is still running, often a year ahead. A row with no team or date is a contract known only by its cap hit, most often one signed since October 2024.

2018-19 playoff analytics

Regular season Playoffs

Rating

-1.6Goals above replacementsix goals are worth about one win
-0.3Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
-3.3Goals above averagethe five parts below added up
Even-strength offence-0.6Even-strength defence-1.4Power play+0.0Penalty kill-0.3Penalties-1.0

The goals he added to his team's goal difference, compared with a spare-part player given the same ice time. Each part is measured against the league, so zero is an average skater. A full season is about two-thirds the player and one-third chance. A playoff run is too short to rank anyone on. Before 2023-24 the NHL timed events less exactly, and differently from rink to rink, so expected goals for this season are rougher than for recent ones.

-50510152010-112012-132014-152016-172018-192020-21Goals above replacementGoals above replacement, by season

On the ice

What happened at five-on-five while he was on the ice. What these numbers mean

46.7Corsi for %356 attempts for, 407 against
-6.7CF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
49.4Expected goals for %16.3 expected for, 16.7 against
-3.4xGF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
49.2Fenwick for %unblocked attempts
54.8Goals for %17 for, 14 against
101.4PDO8.6% shooting + 92.7% saves
40Attempts takenhis own shot attempts

Each share is coloured by where it ranks among the 114 skaters who played enough to be ranked: green is in the top fifth and red the bottom fifth, with paler shades in between and amber for the middle. Hover over a tile for its percentile. PDO and attempts taken are left plain, since neither is good or bad on its own.

Who he played with

Defence pairGPTimeCF%xGF%Goals
Zdeno Chara · Charlie McAvoy22330:3547.350.014-12
Zdeno Chara · Brandon Carlo2244:0850.659.02-1
Zdeno Chara · Connor Clifton1226:3338.336.01-1
Zdeno Chara · Matt Grzelcyk53:5850.025.10-0

The pairs he spent the most time in at five-on-five, with the team's share of the shot attempts and expected goals, and the goals for and against, while they were out. The two shares are coloured as above, against the league's pairs that played a fair amount together. Hover over one for its percentile.

Chances and finishing

Expected goals adds up how likely each of his shots was to go in, judged by where it came from, what kind of shot it was and whether it was a rebound. All situations, leaving out shots at an empty net. Before 2023-24 the NHL timed events less exactly, and differently from rink to rink, so expected goals for this season are rougher than for recent ones.

1Goalsnot counting empty-netters
0.5Expected goalsfrom 28 unblocked attempts
+0.5Goals above expectedgoals minus expected goals
Chances created 0.06 expected goals per 60 minutes1st
Shot quality 1.7% chance per attempt2nd
Finishing +0.5 goals above expected76thOne season of finishing is mostly luck.

Each bar shows the share of defencemen he is ahead of, among the 42 who played at least a quarter as much as the busiest in these playoffs.

00.20.40.60.81Game 20Goals 1Expected 0.5

His goals and his expected goals as the season went on. When the goals line pulls away above, he is scoring more than his chances were worth; below, less.

Where he shot from

Every attempt he took in these playoffs, in all situations, attacking the net on the right. There is a dot for each attempt, bigger for a better chance. "Show as heat map" shades the ice by where the attempts came from. Click a goal for its details.

Game log

Date Opponent Result G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits TOI
Apr 6, 2019 vs TBL L 3-6 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 20:13
Apr 2, 2019 @ CBJ W 6-2 0 0 0 3 0 3 2 21:24
Mar 31, 2019 @ DET L 3-6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 19:24
Mar 30, 2019 vs FLA L 1-4 0 0 0 -1 0 3 1 22:18
Mar 27, 2019 vs NYR W 6-3 0 1 1 -1 2 2 1 20:27
Mar 25, 2019 @ TBL L 4-5 0 0 0 1 2 1 4 23:48
Mar 23, 2019 @ FLA W 7-3 1 1 2 4 0 5 2 25:07
Mar 21, 2019 @ NJD W 5-1 0 0 0 2 0 3 1 19:56
Mar 19, 2019 @ NYI W 5-0 0 0 0 3 5 2 1 19:43
Mar 16, 2019 vs CBJ W 2-1 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 21:59
Mar 14, 2019 @ WPG L 3-4 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 21:25
Mar 12, 2019 @ CBJ L 4-7 0 0 0 2 0 2 4 23:00
Mar 10, 2019 @ PIT L 2-4 0 0 0 1 0 1 3 19:09
Mar 9, 2019 vs OTT W 3-2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 22:17
Mar 7, 2019 vs FLA W 4-3 0 0 0 0 2 1 2 17:54
Mar 5, 2019 vs CAR W 4-3 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 0 0 2 22:41
Mar 2, 2019 vs NJD W 1-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 22:13
Feb 28, 2019 vs TBL W 4-1 0 0 0 2 2 1 1 21:07
Feb 26, 2019 vs SJS W 4-1 0 0 0 1 7 2 0 17:42
Feb 23, 2019 @ STL L 1-2 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 21:57
Feb 20, 2019 @ VGK W 3-2 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 20:08
Feb 18, 2019 @ SJS W 6-5 (OT) 1 0 1 0 2 1 0 22:08
Feb 16, 2019 @ LAK W 4-2 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 21:32
Feb 15, 2019 @ ANA W 3-0 0 1 1 1 0 5 1 22:29
Feb 12, 2019 vs CHI W 6-3 0 1 1 2 2 1 3 21:04
Feb 10, 2019 vs COL W 2-1 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 0 2 3 20:23
Feb 9, 2019 vs LAK W 5-4 (OT) 0 0 0 1 2 1 2 24:00
Feb 6, 2019 @ NYR L 3-4 (SO) 0 0 0 -1 0 2 1 18:29
Feb 5, 2019 vs NYI W 3-1 0 0 0 2 0 2 2 23:52
Feb 3, 2019 @ WSH W 1-0 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 24:16
Jan 31, 2019 vs PHI L 2-3 (OT) 0 1 1 0 0 2 0 22:15
Jan 29, 2019 vs WPG L 3-4 (SO) 0 0 0 -1 2 2 0 19:57
Jan 19, 2019 vs NYR L 2-3 0 0 0 -2 2 0 1 18:20
Jan 17, 2019 vs STL W 5-2 0 1 1 2 5 0 1 20:13
Jan 16, 2019 @ PHI L 3-4 0 0 0 -1 0 1 0 16:18
Jan 14, 2019 vs MTL L 2-3 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 2 0 3 16:41
Jan 12, 2019 @ TOR W 3-2 0 1 1 0 0 2 4 22:23
Jan 10, 2019 vs WSH L 2-4 0 0 0 -1 0 3 1 19:49
Jan 8, 2019 vs MIN W 4-0 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 22:35
Jan 5, 2019 vs BUF W 2-1 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 21:32
Jan 3, 2019 vs CGY W 6-4 0 0 0 1 2 2 1 19:48
Jan 1, 2019 @ CHI W 4-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 19:12
Dec 29, 2018 @ BUF W 3-2 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 0 0 2 19:25
Dec 27, 2018 vs NJD L 2-5 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 19:13
Nov 14, 2018 @ COL L 3-6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 05:24
Nov 11, 2018 vs VGK W 4-1 0 0 0 1 0 3 1 21:53
Nov 10, 2018 vs TOR W 5-1 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 21:04
Nov 8, 2018 vs VAN L 5-8 0 0 0 -1 0 2 0 18:50
Nov 5, 2018 vs DAL W 2-1 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 22:28
Nov 3, 2018 @ NSH L 0-1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 22:56
Oct 30, 2018 @ CAR W 3-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 27:52
Oct 27, 2018 vs MTL L 0-3 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 22:40
Oct 25, 2018 vs PHI W 3-0 2 0 2 1 4 5 2 22:38
Oct 23, 2018 @ OTT W 4-1 0 0 0 2 6 3 3 25:47
Oct 20, 2018 @ VAN L 1-2 (OT) 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 23:13
Oct 18, 2018 @ EDM L 2-3 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 0 2 1 24:21
Oct 17, 2018 @ CGY L 2-5 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 18:23
Oct 13, 2018 vs DET W 8-2 0 0 0 2 0 4 1 20:01
Oct 11, 2018 vs EDM W 4-1 0 0 0 -1 0 1 1 23:06
Oct 8, 2018 vs OTT W 6-3 0 1 1 0 0 1 2 21:56
Oct 4, 2018 @ BUF W 4-0 1 0 1 1 2 2 1 25:55
Oct 3, 2018 @ WSH L 0-7 0 0 0 -2 0 3 2 18:36