Bruins Daily: Chara, Subban And Yandle Retire; MacKinnon Gets Paid

There was no shortage of news and specifically news on retirements Tuesday as former Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara, Milton, MA native Keith Yandle and former Bruins nemesis with the Montreal Canadiens, P.K. Subban, all retired from the NHL.

The Colorado Avalanche also backed up the Brinks Truck for forward Nathan MacKinnon and made sure that he will evetually retire with more money than he could ever spend.

More on that, Boston Bruins and NHL news, as well as NHL trade rumors in the latest BHN Bruins Daily:

Boston Bruins

In an early Tuesday morning Instagram post, former Boston Bruins captain and 2011 Stanley Cup champion Zdeno Chara announced that he would sign a one-day contract with the Bruins and then retire after 25 seasons in the NHL. That’s what Chara, who has played the most games ever (1680) for an NHL defenseman, did at a TD Garden press conference Tuesday afternoon.

While the 45-year-old Chara acknowledged that father time was catching up to him, he told reporters that the main reason he retired from the NHL was to be with his family after being away from them for months at a time for the past two seasons. Chara played for the Washington Capitals during the 2021 season and then for the New York Islanders last season.

Will Chara go down as the best signing ever in NHL Free Agency? My partner-in-scribe, Joe Haggerty, gives his take for Boston Hockey Now.

In our latest BHN Countdown to Boston Bruins Camp profile, I profiled Bruins winger Brad Marchand.

Are you ready to go camping? On Tuesday, the Boston Bruins announced their 2022-23 training camp roster and schedule and today 59 players will report for physicals and off-ice workouts. Can Fabian Lysell make the team out of his second camp?

NYI: Here’s the New York Islanders perspective of Zdeno Chara retiring. Remember, Chara was drafted by the New York Islanders 56th overall in the third round of the 1996 NHL Entry Draft. He would spend the first four seasons of his career on the Islanders before being traded to the Ottawa Senators following the 2000-01 season in another disastrous trade by then-Islanders GM Mike Milbury. Milbury sent Chara, forward Bill Muckalt and a 2001 first round pick to the Senators for Alexei Yashin. The first round pick turned into Jason Spezza.

IMHO, Milbury is the worst NHL GM ever and that was a perfect example of that.

COL: The Colorado Avalanche signed forward Nathan MacKinnon to contract extension with the highest AAV in the history of the salary cap era. Beginning in the 2023-24 season, MacKinnon’s contract will carry a $12.5M AAV thanks to his new eight-year, $100.9 million contract that also has a potential of $85.34 million in bonuses.

PGH: The Pittsburgh Penguins will be broken up into three groups when their 2022-23 training camp starts up on Thursday.

PHI: Philadelphia Flyers special assistant to the general manager Daniel Briere was shocked to hear his former teammate and good friend Sean Couturier is week-to-week with what’s believed to be a back injury.

WSH: Washington Capitals prospect Henrik Rybinski is trying to make the best of a fresh start with the Capitals.

FLA: George Richards has the story on defenseman Keith Yandle retiring from the NHL Tuesday.

VGK: The Vegas Golden Knights will don their gold threads as their home jerseys starting this season and beyond.

SJS: What San Jose Sharks rookie forwards have shined so far in rookie camp?

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