The Boston Bruins organization announced on Monday that they will be retiring Zdeno Chara’s No. 33 in the rafters at TD Garden on Jan. 15, 2026.
The ceremony will be held prior to Boston’s game against the Seattle Kraken, currently set for 7 p.m.
Chara was drafted in 1997 by the New York Islanders, he played with the team up until 2001 when he was traded to the Ottawa Senators where he remained until 2006.
Chara joined the Bruins shortly after in 2006 for 14 seasons up until 2020. He played the 2020-2021 season with the Washington Capitals before joining the New York Islanders for his final season in 2021-2022. He retired from the NHL in Sept. of 2022 where he signed a one-day contract with the Boston Bruins. Chara served as captain of the team for his entire 14 years in Boston.
The 6-foot-9 defenseman scored 148 goals and 333 assists across his 1,023 games with the Bruins. In franchise history, Chara ranks eighth in games played and third in goals with an average ice time of 24:29 by a defenseman according to NHL.com
Chara led the Bruins to a Stanley Cup win in 2011, becoming the first captain to bring a Stanley Cup back to Boston since 1972. He finished his career with 18 goals and 52 assists in 200 playoff games. In his 14 seasons with the Bruins, they advanced to the post season 11 times.
An unforgettable moment for hockey fans across the world was during Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final when Chara broke his jaw and left the game. Fans thought that would be the last they saw of Chara in the playoffs but to everyone’s surprise, the Bruins captain returned to play in Game 5 wearing a full-face shield. His strength and resilience during this moment was evident as he fully embodied what it meant to be a captain and show up for your team.
Chara has remained active since his retirement, running marathons over the last few years, including the Boston Marathon twice, in 2023 and in 2024. He participated in raising money for the Hoyt Foundation and the Thomas E. Smith Foundation.
The Bruins organization saw the lasting impact Chara had on the program and brought him back this year for a behind the scenes role. A few weeks ago, Chara accepted a position as a hockey operations advisor and mentor for the Bruins.
The Bruins organization announced their decision to retire Chara’s jersey number via an instagram post where his emotional reaction was recorded.
Chara became the 13th Bruins player to have their number retired. Among the list is Bruins legend Bobby Orr, who has his own statue outside TD Garden, Bruin’s president Cam Neely and Boston’s all-time scoring leader, Johnny Bucyk. The last time the organization retired a number was in Jan. 2022 when Willie O’Ree’s No. 22 was sent to the rafters in TD Garden. Four years later, Chara is set to be the newest Bruin to earn the honor.
“It is truly beyond words to see my jersey, number 33, raised to the rafters at TD Garden,” said Chara.
He said “This honor is greater than anything I could have imagined when I first came to Boston. I am forever grateful to the Bruins organization for trusting me to lead, to all my teammates past and present, to the fans whose passion and energy made Boston feel like home, and to my family who made everything possible. This moment is not just mine — it belongs to all of us.”
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