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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 2011-12. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Alex Pietrangelo STL · 51 P in 81 GP Brian Campbell FLA · 53 P in 82 GP Dustin Byfuglien WPG · 53 P in 66 GP Shea Weber NSH · 49 P in 78 GP Alexander Edler VAN · 49 P in 82 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

2011-12 season totals

GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Shooting % Avg TOI
79 12 40 52 33 86 224 166 0.66 5.4 25:00

Contract

$6.5MCap hitends in 2018, then UFA
$125KCap dollars per point52 points in 79 games
$539KCap dollars per goal above replacement12.1 goals above replacement
$6MWorth at the going ratewhat teams paid for a season like his
-$540KValueworth 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 367 ranked skaters whose contract is known. How value is worked out.

The contract

Who signed him to it, and when, are not on record. It runs through 2017-18, with 6 seasons left after this one, and he is then an unrestricted free agent.

Season Cap hit
2011-12 $6.5M
2012-13 $6.5M
2013-14 $6.5M
2014-15 $6.5M
2015-16 $6.5M
2016-17 $6.5M
2017-18 $6.5M

Each season left on the contract. Only its cap hit and its end are known: how the pay is split by season, and any signing bonus, are not.

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 2011-12 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.

2011-12 analytics

Regular season Playoffs

Rating

+12.1Goals above replacement38th of 680 skaters, 5th of 235 defencemen
+2.0Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
+5.5Goals above averagethe five parts below added up

Each number is coloured by where it ranks among the 235 ranked defencemen: 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.

Even-strength offence+4.6 98th percentileEven-strength defence+1.9 81st percentilePower play+0.7 96th percentilePenalty kill+0.0 55th percentilePenalties-1.7 13th percentile

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, and the rank beside it is among defencemen. A full season is about two-thirds the player and one-third chance. 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

57.7Corsi for %1603 attempts for, 1175 against
+5.4CF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
58.3Expected goals for %64.4 expected for, 46.2 against
+7.2xGF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
57.2Fenwick for %unblocked attempts
60.5Goals for %78 for, 51 against
101.3PDO9.0% shooting + 92.3% saves
288Attempts takenhis own shot attempts

Each share is coloured by where it ranks among the 557 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 · Johnny Boychuk75847:1860.161.643-30
Zdeno Chara · Dennis Seidenberg55224:3758.357.78-8
Zdeno Chara · Adam McQuaid64159:4956.059.110-3
Zdeno Chara · Joe Corvo65111:0957.654.28-4

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.

12Goalsnot counting empty-netters
9.5Expected goalsfrom 310 unblocked attempts
+2.5Goals above expectedgoals minus expected goals
Chances created 0.29 expected goals per 60 minutes91st
Shot quality 3.1% chance per attempt46th
Finishing +2.5 goals above expected91stOne season of finishing is mostly luck.

Each bar shows the share of defencemen he is ahead of, among the 233 who played 300 minutes or more this season.

0510Game 20Game 40Game 60Goals 12Expected 9.5

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 this season, in all situations, attacking the net on the right. Darker red means more attempts from that spot, and each dot is a goal. "Show every shot" switches to a dot for each attempt, bigger for a better chance. Click a goal for its details.

Game log

Date Opponent Result G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits TOI
Apr 7, 2012 vs BUF W 4-3 (SO) 0 0 0 0 2 3 1 22:25
Apr 3, 2012 vs PIT L 3-5 0 0 0 0 2 4 1 23:01
Apr 1, 2012 @ NYR W 2-1 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 26:36
Mar 31, 2012 @ NYI W 6-3 0 2 2 4 0 1 1 21:27
Mar 29, 2012 vs WSH L 2-3 (SO) 0 1 1 -1 0 3 3 29:30
Mar 27, 2012 vs TBL W 5-2 0 3 3 3 0 6 1 24:26
Mar 25, 2012 @ ANA W 3-2 1 0 1 1 0 1 3 24:40
Mar 24, 2012 @ LAK W 4-2 0 0 0 1 2 2 3 23:16
Mar 22, 2012 @ SJS L 1-2 1 0 1 0 0 3 8 27:23
Mar 19, 2012 vs TOR W 8-0 1 0 1 1 0 2 0 20:05
Mar 17, 2012 vs PHI W 3-2 (SO) 0 0 0 1 2 3 1 28:41
Mar 15, 2012 @ FLA L 2-6 0 1 1 -2 0 2 5 24:24
Mar 13, 2012 @ TBL L 1-6 0 1 1 1 0 2 2 23:30
Mar 11, 2012 @ PIT L 2-5 0 0 0 -3 2 2 1 26:58
Mar 10, 2012 vs WSH L 3-4 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 25:46
Mar 8, 2012 vs BUF W 3-1 0 0 0 1 0 3 1 23:22
Mar 6, 2012 @ TOR W 5-4 0 2 2 2 2 2 1 24:39
Mar 4, 2012 @ NYR L 3-4 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 24:37
Mar 3, 2012 vs NYI L 2-3 0 1 1 0 0 2 4 26:14
Mar 1, 2012 vs NJD W 4-3 (OT) 0 2 2 2 4 2 2 26:26
Feb 28, 2012 vs OTT L 0-1 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 23:28
Feb 25, 2012 @ OTT W 5-3 0 2 2 1 7 6 2 22:54
Feb 24, 2012 @ BUF L 1-2 (SO) 1 0 1 0 0 2 3 25:49
Feb 22, 2012 @ STL W 4-2 0 0 0 3 2 2 5 23:27
Feb 19, 2012 @ MIN L 0-2 0 0 0 -1 0 3 2 26:50
Feb 17, 2012 @ WPG L 2-4 0 0 0 -2 0 3 2 25:06
Feb 15, 2012 @ MTL W 4-3 (SO) 0 1 1 -3 0 2 0 28:03
Feb 14, 2012 vs NYR L 0-3 0 0 0 -1 2 6 0 23:53
Feb 11, 2012 vs NSH W 4-3 (SO) 0 1 1 1 0 2 1 27:00
Feb 8, 2012 @ BUF L 0-6 0 0 0 -3 2 2 2 19:22
Feb 5, 2012 @ WSH W 4-1 0 1 1 3 0 2 2 25:49
Feb 4, 2012 vs PIT L 1-2 0 0 0 0 0 4 2 27:01
Feb 2, 2012 vs CAR L 0-3 0 0 0 -1 0 3 3 27:48
Jan 31, 2012 vs OTT W 4-3 1 1 2 -1 0 4 4 25:20
Jan 24, 2012 @ WSH L 3-5 0 0 0 -2 2 1 5 26:16
Jan 22, 2012 @ PHI W 6-5 (SO) 0 0 0 3 2 9 3 31:45
Jan 21, 2012 vs NYR L 2-3 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 0 2 1 32:19
Jan 19, 2012 @ NJD W 4-1 0 0 0 1 0 3 1 26:42
Jan 17, 2012 @ TBL L 3-5 0 1 1 -2 0 2 1 26:14
Jan 16, 2012 @ FLA W 3-2 (SO) 0 0 0 0 2 2 5 26:20
Jan 14, 2012 @ CAR L 2-4 0 0 0 -1 0 4 2 23:30
Jan 12, 2012 vs MTL W 2-1 0 1 1 1 0 2 3 26:45
Jan 10, 2012 vs WPG W 5-3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 25:04
Jan 7, 2012 vs VAN L 3-4 0 0 0 2 0 3 1 26:18
Jan 5, 2012 vs CGY W 9-0 0 2 2 3 0 3 0 20:32
Jan 4, 2012 @ NJD W 6-1 0 0 0 1 0 3 1 21:48
Dec 31, 2011 @ DAL L 2-4 0 0 0 1 2 2 3 23:11
Dec 28, 2011 @ PHX W 2-1 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 0 3 0 24:16
Dec 23, 2011 vs FLA W 8-0 0 2 2 4 0 1 0 20:56
Dec 19, 2011 vs MTL W 3-2 0 0 0 -1 0 6 2 26:05
Dec 17, 2011 @ PHI W 6-0 1 1 2 0 5 4 3 23:39
Dec 10, 2011 @ CBJ W 5-3 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 13:27
Dec 8, 2011 vs FLA L 0-2 0 0 0 -1 0 3 0 21:22
Dec 6, 2011 @ WPG L 1-2 0 0 0 1 0 4 0 25:35
Dec 5, 2011 @ PIT W 3-1 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 25:43
Dec 3, 2011 vs TOR W 4-1 0 0 0 3 4 0 4 20:59
Nov 30, 2011 @ TOR W 6-3 1 1 2 2 0 6 1 27:25
Nov 26, 2011 vs WPG W 4-2 1 0 1 2 0 6 3 26:17
Nov 25, 2011 vs DET L 2-3 (SO) 0 0 0 -1 0 6 3 26:27
Nov 23, 2011 @ BUF W 4-3 (SO) 1 0 1 0 5 7 2 27:00
Nov 21, 2011 @ MTL W 1-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 27:22
Nov 19, 2011 @ NYI W 6-0 1 0 1 1 0 3 1 21:58
Nov 17, 2011 vs CBJ W 2-1 (SO) 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 25:28
Nov 15, 2011 vs NJD W 4-3 0 1 1 1 0 4 4 28:43
Nov 12, 2011 vs BUF W 6-2 0 2 2 3 0 4 4 25:26
Nov 10, 2011 vs EDM W 6-3 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 28:34
Nov 7, 2011 vs NYI W 6-2 0 2 2 0 2 4 2 23:30
Nov 5, 2011 @ TOR W 7-0 0 2 2 2 0 2 2 24:57
Nov 1, 2011 vs OTT W 5-3 0 2 2 2 0 5 4 25:17
Oct 29, 2011 @ MTL L 2-4 0 1 1 0 0 2 2 28:08
Oct 27, 2011 vs MTL L 1-2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 28:17
Oct 22, 2011 vs SJS L 2-4 0 0 0 -1 2 2 1 23:51
Oct 20, 2011 vs TOR W 6-2 1 2 3 1 2 5 2 25:23
Oct 18, 2011 vs CAR L 1-4 0 0 0 0 19 2 3 19:42
Oct 15, 2011 @ CHI W 3-2 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 2 5 27:07
Oct 12, 2011 @ CAR L 2-3 0 0 0 2 0 3 2 25:52
Oct 10, 2011 vs COL L 0-1 0 0 0 -1 4 2 4 21:17
Oct 8, 2011 vs TBL W 4-1 0 0 0 1 0 5 3 24:46
Oct 6, 2011 vs PHI L 1-2 0 0 0 -1 2 1 2 24:35