Chara: "Ottawa Is My Home"

[hawthy]

'Ottawa is my home'
Chara's a Bruin now but his heart is still in capital
By CHRIS STEVENSON

It's going to take a while to get used to it, seeing him skating around with the hub and that "B" in the middle on his chest.

Boston Bruins defenceman Zdeno Chara (still sounds odd) has been skating with the other NHL players around town here for a few days as they start to crank it up for training camp.

If the coolness in the night air or those first leaves turning a fiery red aren't enough to do it, the real hockey guys getting together for some pickup is a sure sign summer is now on the DL and listed as day-to-day.

Chara, who's been in Ottawa off and on this summer, skated again yesterday with some of the Senators and other NHLers who spend their summers here before he heads off to Boston at the end of the week.

The crest on his chest says Chara is now a Bruin, but his heart, he says, is still here in Ottawa.

If that sounds trite and something you might expect him to say to an Ottawa writer, Chara revealed yesterday Ottawa right now is his first choice as his home when his playing days are done.

"I'm going to stay here. I'm not going back to Europe. I've gotten used to the North American style. I think Ottawa is going to be my home (when he retires)," said the 29-year-old.

"I'm going to live here. Too bad things didn't work out."

Not that he'll need the money when he takes his Freedom 35 or 40 or whatever it is, but Chara can get a job with the tourism board as he extolled Ottawa's virtues yesterday.

"It's a pretty laid back city. It's a place to relax. You can go for a hike, walk around, go to Gatineau Park, there's a river close by. If you want to go downtown it takes you 15 or 20 minutes," he said, ticking off the reasons why he wants to live here.

"I think it's a good environment. I like Canada a lot. We'll see maybe in a year or two I'll change my mind, but definitely I want to stay in Canada."

It was clear yesterday he isn't happy with the way things turned out here. We'll probably never know exactly what happened, what was said and wasn't said in the days and weeks leading up to Chara signing with the Bruins.

The easiest spin -- and one that suits the Senators after having lost him to free agency -- is Chara wanted more than the Senators could afford.

He signed in Boston for $7.5 million a year for five years, obviously more than the Senators could afford given the number and quality of players they needed to sign this off-season.

What's not quite clear is how hard the Senators tried to keep Chara.

'DISAPPOINTED'

When Senators defenceman Wade Redden signed a two-year deal worth $13 million at the end of June, confirming Chara's days with the Senators were over, Chara's agent, Matt Keator said in an e-mail Chara was "happy for Wade, he is a good teammate and a great guy, but is also disappointed that Ottawa was not more aggressive in retaining him."

Chara said it himself yesterday.

There was little or no contact on the club's behalf in that period when it had the exclusive opportunity to sign Chara.

"It's a process where you have the whole season, a whole year to sign a player," he said, reluctantly revisiting what is obviously still a sore point with him.

"It's totally up to the team. It's not up to the player. It's up to the team to sign him. I believe in one thing. If you really want something, you go for it. If you don't, you don't. What can I say?"

Chara said his first choice all along was to stay here.

"For sure. For sure. I was really trying hard. I would have liked to have stayed ... I would have liked to have got it done, but it didn't happen."

As Chara talked to a couple of writers in the lobby of the rink where the players skated yesterday, a few kids came over for autographs.

"Good luck in Boston," said one little guy, with a downcast look on his face.

So now Chara becomes the best ex-Senator out there, one with maybe a bit of a chip on his shoulder (that's a long way for that chip to fall, by the way) playing in the same division with eight games between the two clubs on the horizon.

It's still August and summer is on the limp and lord knows you don't want to wish away the last golden days but Oct. 28 -- the first game between the Senators and the Bruins -- isn't really that far off, is it?

http://ottawasun.com/Sports/Senators...70668-sun.html

Nothing much new or shocking, but if Z is as sincere as he sounds, it's a shame something couldn't be worked out to keep him here. I wonder how much less he was willing to take to stay in Ottawa.

[ThreeStars]

I say here exactly what I said on another board:

[bigm27]

Guess we'll never know how much he was willing to accept to stay. I wish him well in Boston but am afraid he may become a victim to the new and faster NHL.

[TorPeteO]

Bull****! Let's examine a quote that Chara himself said;

"I believe in one thing. If you really want something, you go for it. If you don't, you don't."

How come a player can't make a sacrifice to get something that he apparently 'really wants', it has to be the team? I don't buy it. If you really want to play in Ottawa, you can take the paycut. If you really want the $7.5M, you can play in Boston. It's as simple as that. His statement that "... it is totally up to the team" is a cop-out, any team in the league would have been sullying their pants at the knowledge that this guy really wanted to play in their city.

That said, he's still a pretty classy guy if he'll come back to the city and continue to extoll its virtues after he was allowed to walk away. His statements are just a little hollow considering their hypocrisy.

[Cheesy]

There's no denying the money was right in Boston, regardless if Ottawa really wanted to retain him or not.

[TorPeteO]

There's no denying the money was right in Boston, regardless if Ottawa really wanted to retain him or not.

I'm not saying that the money wasn't better in Boston, I'm saying that for him to concurrently state his passionate wont to stay in Ottawa while saying that you have to do everything you can to get what you really want is complete garbage, because they're contradictory statements given his situation.

He can't blame Ottawa for not doing everything in their power to keep him (which he think is something the Sens really wanted) without blaming himself for not doing everything in his power to stay in Ottawa (something he says he really wants).

The Senators would have had to make sacrifices to keep Chara, whether that be letting Schaefer walk, or some other salary dump. Chara, if he wanted to stay in Ottawa, would have had to make similar sacrifices if the team was to retain any semblance to depth past their first line, even if that meant accepting a $1.5M pay cut.

Wade Redden really wanted to stay in Ottawa, and he proved it. He could more than likely have gotten $7.5M in another city, but he stated he was willing to take $6M (a $1.5M cut) if Chara would agree to the same deal. Through his actions, Redden proved that he wanted to stay in Ottawa; through Chara's actions, he proved that what was more important was money. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with choosing money, I'm saying that if you're going to sign for more money, don't say that you were forced into that decision and it wasn't that one you wanted to make.

[BlackRedGold]

Wade Redden really wanted to stay in Ottawa, and he proved it. He could more than likely have gotten $7.5M in another city, but he stated he was willing to take $6M (a $1.5M cut) if Chara would agree to the same deal. Through his actions, Redden proved that he wanted to stay in Ottawa; through Chara's actions, he proved that what was more important was money. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with choosing money, I'm saying that if you're going to sign for more money, don't say that you were forced into that decision and it wasn't that one you wanted to make.

Okay. So if Ottawa had offered Chara a $6M / year deal, the same as Redden was willing to take, who do they dump to fit his salary under the cap? It would have been Heatley/Spezza/Alfredsson gone to be replaced by someone making the league minimium.

Chara couldn't come back because there was no money left under the cap once the team had decided upon resigning Redden.

[Northern Neighbour]

Actually, if the Sens had re-signed Chara for $6M or $6.25M, they could have fit him under the cap. However, the team likely wouldn't have signed Gerber ($3.7M), Corvo ($2.675M), and possibly McAmmond ($750K). Those three salaries would have been more than enough to cover Chara's salary.

The team likely would have still traded Havlat and obtained Preissing in return, but would have a hole in net. Hasek, in this scenario, probably would have re-signed since he wouldn't get more than $1M.

[TorPeteO]

It was publicized that the Senators offered Chara $6M alongside $6M offered for Redden; I'm not sure if that was concocted by Garrioch or something, but that's what local sports writers said. In order to sign that deal, as I said before,

The Senators would have had to make sacrifices to keep Chara, whether that be letting Schaefer walk, or some other salary dump. Chara, if he wanted to stay in Ottawa, would have had to make similar sacrifices if the team was to retain any semblance to depth past their first line, even if that meant accepting a $1.5M pay cut.

For Ottawa, those sacrifices would probably have had to entail something like this;

-$0.5M from Redden
-$2.65M from Corvo
-$2.1M from Schaefer
-$0.725M from McAmmond
-$1.1M from Neil
+$0.9M for new (AHL-calibre) wingers
=$6.175 left over for Chara

Or, as Northern Neighbour said, Ottawa trying Hasek again and leaving Gerber behind, or even trying an Emery/Glass tandem.

Anyway, if that offer was extended, Ottawa was prepared to do almost everything in their power to re-sign Chara; the one thing they would not budge on was re-signing Chara at the expense of Redden, which was simply their asset-priority (and probably the fact that Redden signed for less). It would have been a maximum sacrifice on Ottawa's part compared to a relatively minimal sacrifice for Chara.

[Senotaur]

He's gone. And so is the team that kept stalling in the playoffs.The Senators did the right thing by getting quicker, more offensive minded defense. Their system is going to change a little and emerging players are going to get more of a shot this year.

Chara did a great job here and there is a lot of hilight reel footage of the big guy in a Sens jersey. BUT! But the shake up will do the team good. I'm glad the pre-season is so long. It gives the team a chance to really gel and gives us an extended peek at the team.

GO SENS GO!!!!

[BlackRedGold]

Actually, if the Sens had re-signed Chara for $6M or $6.25M, they could have fit him under the cap. However, the team likely wouldn't have signed Gerber ($3.7M), Corvo ($2.675M), and possibly McAmmond ($750K). Those three salaries would have been more than enough to cover Chara's salary.

The team likely would have still traded Havlat and obtained Preissing in return, but would have a hole in net. Hasek, in this scenario, probably would have re-signed since he wouldn't get more than $1M.

I think a hole in net is harder to overcome then losing a defenceman no matter how good he is. And it isn't just this upcoming season, that the Sens would have problems fitting Chara under the cap. He would make things even more difficult the following season, when Phillips, Volchenkov and Emery are up for a new contract. If Emery is the starter next season, his salary goes way up the following year.

[Northern Neighbour]

I think a hole in net is harder to overcome then losing a defenceman no matter how good he is. And it isn't just this upcoming season, that the Sens would have problems fitting Chara under the cap. He would make things even more difficult the following season, when Phillips, Volchenkov and Emery are up for a new contract. If Emery is the starter next season, his salary goes way up the following year.

Agreed. With smaller salaries, a team can manage its cap a lot better and provides greater flexibility. I don't dispute this, but rather just wanted to say that the team could have fit Chara within its budget.

[Tomas]

If he would have liked to have stayed, he would have. Chara's a great defenseman but I don't buy this stuff personally. He went where the money was. If it's true that Ottawa was offering him the $6 million offer, then I don't buy the "I would have liked to stay here" bit. I would have loved to have kept Chara here but I wonder what the cost would have been if it meant going into next season with Emery or Hasek in net again.

[Billy]

I believe he really wanted to stay.He wanted us to give him the money too.

[Faraday]

I believe he really wanted to stay.He wanted us to give him the money too.

I think it is as simple as that. For sure he wanted to stay, sounds like he wants to live here regardless too. The money wasn't there at this time in the team's development. That's the way it goes, good luck in Boston.

I'm still struggling to decide if I think the Bruins make the playoffs this year, right now I pick no.

[Napoleon]

what Chara did was not fair. Sens offered him a contract so he and his agent backed away without saying how much they wanted. Something isn't adding up right with what he is saying now.

[BlackRedGold]

I'm still struggling to decide if I think the Bruins make the playoffs this year, right now I pick no.

I think a big part of it will be if Chara is as good as advertised or if a big part of his success was having an underrated guy like Chris Phillips as his partner.

Time will tell.

[emo]

In my mind, there are certain things that made Chara as good as he was and many of them are not tied to having Phillips as a partner. I think Chara was largely successful due to his desire to improve, his outstanding reach, his brute strength, his cannon of a shot and his conditioning which allowed him to grind with the biggest players and still play 30 minutes.

That will all be there with Boston. Once he gets used to whoever he's paired with, I expect a familiarity will grow like it did over the years with Phillips.

[koreaboy]

i think both players, phillips and chara, will do just fine this year without each other. boston SHOULD be a better team, the hope is that we will be at least as good without Z, but better in the playoffs with a different mix of guys.

[Joe Sakic]

I don't think the absence of Chara will affect Phillips' play, he's just that steady and consistent. Will Chara be missed - absolutely. He is a physical specimen that intimidates his oppents with his size and strength.

I will say that I don't buy into his message of management not showing their desire to keep him in town. He had his chance to sign with the team but he wanted more money. I have no problem with him signing in Boston for $7.5/season because he earned his right to be on the open market. What I have a problem with is his statement that it's not about the money - it's ALWAYS about the money. Good luck to the big Z but I'm much happier with our dmen now.