Zdeno Chára

Zdeno Chára (Slovak pronunciation: [ˈzdenɔ ˈxaːra]; born 18 March 1977) is a Slovak former professional ice hockey defenceman. He played 24 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New York Islanders, Ottawa Senators, Boston Bruins, and Washington Capitals between 1997 and 2022. Standing 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) tall, Chára is the tallest person ever to play in the NHL, earning him the nickname "Big Z". Internationally, he played for the Slovakia men's national team and won two silver medals at the Ice Hockey World Championships. At the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, he won a silver medal playing for Team Europe. He was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2025.

Chára served as the Bruins' captain for all of his fourteen seasons with the franchise, from 2006 to 2020. He won the Norris Trophy as the league's best defenceman in 2009, becoming the first Slovak player to do so, and the second European player after Nicklas Lidström. In 2011, 2013 and 2019 Chára captained the Bruins to the Stanley Cup Finals, winning in 2011. He is one of five European-born and raised captains to lead his team to the Stanley Cup championship, and the first to be born and trained in the Eastern Bloc. In 2022, Chára played in his 1,652nd NHL game, making him the league's all-time leader in games played by a defenceman. He was the second to last NHL player to play in the 1990s.