Don Sweeney has told plenty of Zdeno Chara stories over the years, but the one he reached for ahead of the defenseman’s Hall of Fame induction says everything in two words.
Sweeney went to see his captain in hospital during the 2019 Stanley Cup Final. Chara’s jaw was broken and wired, he couldn’t speak, and there was a legitimate question about whether his season was finished. The Bruins general manager wasn’t given much room to discuss it.
“Visiting him in the hospital after he broke his jaw when we were in ’19. Couldn’t talk, and all he wrote was, ‘I’m playing,'” Sweeney said, per 98.5 The Sports Hub.
What happened to Zdeno Chara’s jaw?
The injury came in Game 4 against St. Louis, when Chara took a puck directly to the face. He was 42 years old, in his 21st NHL season, and playing in what would turn out to be his last Stanley Cup Final.
Chara was back for Game 5 two days later. He played the remainder of the series, all the way through a Game 7 the Bruins lost at home, and never dressed it up as anything heroic. Unable to speak to reporters, he issued a written statement confirming he would play.
READ MORE: Zdeno Chara once dropped the gloves against a Bruins teammate
Sweeney’s point in telling the story wasn’t really about toughness.
“You really think about those moments of perseverance of a singular person trying to will everybody else to do it like he does,” Sweeney said.
Chara was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in November 2025. The Bruins raised his No. 33 to the TD Garden rafters on January 15, 2026.
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