Boston Bruins: Memories of the last time Zdeno Chara wasn’t a Bruin
The end of 2020 brought somber news for Boston Bruins fans, as longtime captain Zdeno Chara announced that he was leaving the franchise after fourteen years with the team to sign with the Washington Capitals.
As the Bruins enter a new era for the franchise, let’s take a look back at what the world looked like in October of 2005, the last time that Zdeno Chara wasn’t on the Bruins’ opening night roster. (We did a similar exercise last month with the last time that the New England Patriots didn’t win the AFC East.)
In the music scene, a future presidential candidate named Kanye West topped the charts with his smash hit “Gold Digger,” featuring Jamie Foxx, was in the middle of its stretch of ten consecutive weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 list.
In the world of literature Robert Schwenke’s psychological thriller mystery “Fightplan” was the top film in U.S. theaters.
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As for political and historical figures, Justice Samuel Alito was nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court by President George W. Bush and Following her death at the age of 92, Rosa Parks became the first woman to lie in honor in the U.S. Capitol rotunda.
All of this happened while the southeastern United States was still suffering from the fallout of Hurricane Katrina, which hit the region in August and killed nearly 2,000 Americans.
How the sports scene looked last time the Boston Bruins played without Zdeno Chara
The first NFL regular season game outside of the United States was played at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, Mexico. The Arizona Cardinals defeated the San Francisco 49ers by a score of 31-14.
In hockey, 20– year-old Patrice Bergeron, Chara’s successor as captain, lead the Bruins in scoring with 31 goals and 42 assists, while 18 year-old Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Tuukka Rask played in net for the Finnish professional team Ilves.
Despite being drafted 21st overall by the Maple Leafs in July of that year, Rask never actually suited up for Toronto, as he would be traded to the Bruins in exchange for veteran goaltender Andrew Raycroft the following year.
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Fun facts: Charlie McAvoy, Chara’s defensive partner during his last few years in Boston, was seven years old and Alexis Lafreniere, the number one overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, celebrated his fourth birthday. (However, he was still only three years old when the NHL season began on October 5.)