Well, this is exciting.
Zdeno Chara now holds the record for something. I mean, he was already the tallest player on the Boston Bruins, but now he has something over the rest of the league. Take a guess.
Yes, it is his age. As of today, Chara is the oldest player in the NHL. Here's how it went down.
On Wednesday this week, Pittsburgh Penguins forward Matt Cullen, who is set to turn 43 in November, announced his retirement. Surely, it's a loss for the Penguins on the attack, but it's a gain for Chara in the record books. In other words, it works out pretty well for the Bruins in this zero-sum game we call life.
Like Chara, Cullen is 42 years old. However, Cullen is 136 days older than Chara, according to Yahoo! Sports. Therefore, if you subtract Cullen from the equation, then Chara becomes the torchbearer for oldest player in the NHL. And since it looks like Chara is not going anywhere, it's a torch he could hold for more than one season.
Chara is set to turn 43 during the middle of this upcoming season. He is under contract for one more year at $2 million. What happens after that is anyone's guess. But it is worth noting he will be the first 43-year-old to play for the Bruins since Mark Recchi in the 2010-2011 season, if all goes according to plan.
Remember, Recchi called it a career immediately after winning the Stanley Cup with the B's...
The amazing thing about Chara is he is still a useful player. A team that was one game away from winning the Stanley Cup used him on their defense. That should tell you something about his playing ability--even at this old age.
Here's to (at least) one more season of Chara. Should be a fun one.