BHN Puck Links: Do We Already Know Chara’s Boston Bruins Fate?

Do the Boston Bruins know something that we don’t about Zdeno Chara’s future in Boston?

On it’s face, they most assuredly do based on his stated desire to keep playing with the Black and Gold.

It feels that way as the 43-year-old captain remains unsigned with the NHL regular season start and format still up in the air as conversations commence this week between the NHL and NHLPA.

Chara’s agent Matt Keator told Boston Hockey Now last week that the 6-foot-9 defenseman is simply waiting on a format for the season before deciding whether he’s going to play, and the assumption is that would be with the Boston Bruins.

But that hasn’t stopped speculation that other NHL teams could swoop in for a player in Chara that could be a difference-maker for a Cup contender, a situation that won’t stop until he’s made a decision one way or the other.

But perhaps the Bruins are giving us a spoiler on the Chara situation when it comes to their new reverse retro jerseys.

There’s a reverse retro Chara sweater with No. 33 on the back and the “C” on the front up for sale along with the gold sweaters for David Pastrnak, Patrice Bergeron, Tuukka Rask and Brad Marchand (and unsigned RFA Jake DeBrusk for that matter with the trade rumors out there swirling around about him).

It’s a whopping $240 for the jersey, so there’s none of the massive discount on individual merchandise when a Bruins player is on their way out the door either. Maybe Boston Bruins fans have their answer about whether Chara is staying or going, and it’s been innocently sitting in the Pro Shop at TD Garden for the last few days.

On to the links:

*FOH (Friend of Haggs) Dan Kingerski has the three biggest obstacles in the NHL’s return for the 2020-21 NHL regular season and make no mistake about it they are not insignificant. (Pittsburgh Hockey Now)

*The Columbus Blue Jackets are still going to be a big player in trades or free agency with plenty of cap space and a need to fill given the injury to Gustav Nyquist. It’s just a matter of what Jarmo Kekalainen is going to do at this point. (Columbus Dispatch)

*Who on the San Jose Sharks is going to get the “Joe Biden seat” when the NHL regular season kicks up again? (San Jose Hockey Now)

*The NHL is already looking at more financial concessions from the players just months after they agreed to a CBA extension. I think this is going to get done because both sides need each other for the league’s survival, but Larry Brooks says it could be a bit of a bumpy ride. (New York Post)

*FOH Adrian Dater has his Avalanche mailbag for this week, and it’s chock full of Colorado goodness. We aren’t talking about the kind that you smoke, either. (Colorado Hockey Now)

*For something completely different: It’s a sad day for Canadian showbiz as Michael J. Fox says he’s retiring from acting while he continues to grapple with Parkinson’s Disease. We’ll always wonder what we missed out on from him in TV and movies after he was diagnosed in the very prime of his show business career. What a talent. Back to the Future will always be one of the best movies of all time and Teen Wolf isn’t so bad either. (ET Canada)