Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara, who recently drove back to Boston from Florida where he spent the NHL’s coronavirus shutdown with his family, said he gained a new appreciation for what he has after watching the country struggle with the pandemic.
Chara spoke to reporters via Zoom on Thursday and said the Bruins have to be grateful, even within the context of a round-robin tournament that they might feel is unfair.
“I think we have to be grateful for the opportunity we’re getting, when you kind of look like it in a real-life perspective,” Chara said. “What other people‘s families, businesses go through, it’s one of those things that we’re getting the opportunity to start where we almost ended the season. Not everybody is getting the same chance. A lot of people lost a lot of financial support. Businesses went down, and they will never get the same opportunity, so we have to be grateful for the opportunity and take it as a huge motivation, excitement and be grateful like I said, and kind of embrace it.”
Players have a lot of legitimate concerns as the season preps for a return. The pandemic might not overwhelmingly affect people in Chara’s age demographic and physical fitness, but it has touched some, and the NHL -- like every other league -- will need to address how it plans to keep its players (and by proxy, their families) safe.
“I think these are the questions that need to still be processed,” Chara said, when asked about the potential for players to get sick. “I think after maybe this kind of approval of format, there’s going to be other steps that need to go over and I’m sure this is one of those things that I’m sure all the people have to be aware of, the safety and health of the players, staff, coaches and all the people around working at this need to be kind of taken care of. I’m sure these are the questions that will come up and have to be answered. ...
“There is definitely some risk involved, I think we all have to kind of realize that I think you have to accept risks in your life, and I’m sure even without this pandemic, every time you step on the ice, there’s risk of getting injured or some sort of things can happen, but obviously this is a little different. This is something that kind of hit us really hard, and nobody knows 100 percent that nothing will happen. But there’s going to be risk involved, and we have to manage what kind of risk we’re willing to accept.”
Chara said the shut down “definitely (makes) you appreciate what you have," especially in contrast with the bigger picture of the country.
“We’ve talked about how this becomes very uncomfortable for many of us, and it’s affected so many people, but I think like I’ve been saying, I’m so glad I have family and I’ve been able to spend some time with them,” Chara said. “Every day I’ve been able to play with my kids and see them interact and keep improving in their skills, and kind of when you have to step back like this, you want to kind of also step back and take a breather from the days and the routine you were involved in for so long. It kind of makes you realize that things are not always going to be perfect, there’s going to be challenges in your life, and you’ve got to remind yourself what worked before when you were facing some challenges and adversities and kind of start implementing those same routines into comebacks like we face now. But mostly, I’m very grateful and thankful that I’ve been able to have health with my family and spend some time with them.”
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