These things are never easy.

It happens nearly all the time. The toughest thing for any professional athlete is to come to terms with his or her mortality rate when it comes to a long career.

The toughest thing for the fans is to see that decision made for them.

Thus we have the departure of longtime and now former Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara. When Chara left the ice after the Bruins lost to Tampa last summer in the Stanley Cup Playoffs in Toronto, the speculation immediately began whether he would ever be seen in a Boston uniform again. In fact, the now retired great broadcaster Doc Emrick began that thinking with his comments at the end of that game.

This was a typical situation: Star thinks he has more left in the tank than team. Team either says that’s it or offers a miniscule, vastly reduced rule, the latter being the route the Bruins took.

Star says see ya. Team says best of luck.

“I want to make sure it’s abundantly clear,” Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said on Thursday. “We had multiple, multiple discussions with Zdeno and Matt Keator (agent). Very appreciative of all the dialogue, both sides being honest of where they were.”

All polite, respectful. The key here is that the Bruins, according to Sweeney, didn’t tell Chara they weren’t interested in bringing him back. They just weren’t interested in bringing him back to be a full time, 21-minute a night defenseman.

“We had certainly offered a contract to Zdeno months ago. “He indicated he wanted time to work through, again, where he felt he was at, where the league was at, the return to play protocols, and what the role we were describing and hoping to integrate him into with our hockey club, as we saw it. What our internal plans and discussions were moving forward.”

And of course, that was a reduction in playing time at the expense of lesser known players.

“Make no mistake about it,” Sweeney said, “that did include looking to integrate some of the younger players that had an opportunity to develop in our system and us trying to see whether or not they were capable of handling minutes in situations they had not been exposed to.”

Of course, now the great debate, one that will be put under the microscope all season, is whether any of those young players who only the most die hard Bruins fans have ever heard of are better than what Chara will do for the Washington Capitals.

“The conversations toward the end, it was very clear to me I would not be in the starting lineup for the season, or starting some games or playing back to back games,” Chara said. “I would be more in a kind of a reserve type of player.”

The Caps are suddenly the home for aging veterans. The New York Rangers had made the more extreme decision with iconic franchise goalie Henrik Lundqvist, buying him out and making him a free agent. However, they had two other netminders waiting in the wings, and Lundqvist felt he could still play and signed with the Caps. Unfortunately, he needs open heart surgery and won’t be playing.

But like Lundqvist, the Chara departure has no real villain. Or acrimony.

“Lot of credit to Don Sweeney how he handled the situation,” Chara said. “Again, for me, it would be better for me if I could find a better role with another team, and step aside, and let the Boston Bruins go in the direction they chose to do.”

And right now, he didn’t put any public pressure on the Caps for playing time

“Nothing is guaranteed in Washington,” Chara said.

No, but obviously he feels he’ll be used more than a sixth or seventh defenseman.

“We described it as an integrated role,” Sweeeney said. “We didn’t make a categorical promise he’d have the exact same role that he had had certainly in his 14 historic career with the Boston Bruins.

“I’m very sad…to see a player like that choose to leave.”

We all are, Don, we all are. There would always be Chara in that left corner of the dressing room, as tall as the reporters surrounding him while sitting. Now, if reporters ever have that kind of access again, no more. But that’s the way these things usually work.

Chara gone. And of course, Tom Brady gone. There are no storybook endings anymore.

Still, try to have a Happy New Year, everyone. At least the 2020 has ended.

Tom King can be reached at tking@nashuatelegraph.com, or on twitter @Telegraph _TomK.

Newsletter