The Boston Bruins already had a tough road ahead of them to start the 2015-16 NHL season, thanks in large part to a bevy of offseason changes that started at the top with GM Peter Chiarelli's firing and trickled all the way down through the roster. The new-look Bruins, helmed by Chiarelli successor GM Don Sweeney, are looking to return to form and the postseason this year after missing out for the first time in eight seasons last year. Unfortunately, they'll begin that arduous climb back to relevancy without players like Dennis Seidenberg (injury) and Dougie Hamilton (offseason trade), and they may also do so without captain and behemoth blueliner Zdeno Chara. Chara, according to Joe Haggerty of CSN New England, has been placed on injured reserve by the Bruins.
Of course, the IR designation means little for Chara's immediate future. Once seven days have passed since the date of the injury, a player can return whenever he or the team determine that he's ready, so there's every possibility that the now 38-year-old Chara could return in time for the Bru-crew's season-opener against the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday. And to hear the Bruins website tell it, that may very well be the case.
"I think he's inching closer and I think he's getting very close to practicing with our team. Now, I can't - again, because it's day to day - I don't know if he's going to be in tomorrow or the day after or whatever, we're hoping that's the case," head coach Claude Julien said. "It's looking like it's heading in that direction, but there's no guarantees. So we don't know and he's still day to day, and we look forward to having him back as soon as possible, but he's skating, he's feeling better every day, so that's the positive thing about Zdeno's situation."
Considering Chara has been "day-to-day" since he initially sustained the injury against the New York Rangers on Sept. 24, that tells Bruins fans little. Still, it's a modicum of hope for fans of the Black and Gold at a time when there seems to be little about which to be optimistic, even with a new season full of possibility waiting just around the corner.
