Former Bruins captains Chara, Thornton elected to 2025 Hall of Fame class originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Two former captains of the Boston Bruins — Zdeno Chara and Joe Thornton — have been voted to the Hockey Hall of Fame class of 2025.
“Across his exceptional 24-year career, Zdeno put forth an unparalleled combination of size, strength, and ability each time he took the ice,” Bruins president Cam Neely said in a statement released Tuesday. “He kept opponents on notice with his commanding physicality and set the tone for his teammates with a stout defensive acumen, all while having the power at any given time to unleash one of the hardest shots ever recorded.
“His legendary leadership qualities were also continually on display, particularly when it came to his renowned off-ice conditioning which set a standard for all our players to follow. To put it simply, Zdeno’s skill set stands among the most unique in the century-plus history of the National Hockey League, making him enormously worthy of enshrinement into the Hockey Hall of Fame where he will be remembered forever as one of the very best to play our sport.”
This was the first year both Chara and Thornton appeared on the ballot, and their inclusion in this class is no surprise. They are joined in the 2025 class by Jennifer Botterill, Brianna Decker, Duncan Keith, Alexander Mogilny, Jack Parker (builder) and Danièle Sauvageau (builder).
The Bruins drafted Thornton with the No. 1 overall pick in 1997. He lived up to the hype as a No. 1 center and elite offensive player. He tallied 454 points (169 goals, 285 assists) in 532 career games with the Bruins.
Success in the Stanley Cup Playoffs eluded Thornton as the Bruins advanced past the first round only once in his seven-plus seasons in Boston. The B’s traded him to the San Jose Sharks during the 2005-06 season for an underwhelming return.
It was a low point for the Bruins, but the trade did free up valuable salary cap space, and in the summer of 2006 they used that cap flexibility to sign Chara as a free agent.
Chara, the tallest player in league history at 6-foot-9, immediately transformed the culture of the franchise. He was a legit No. 1 defenseman — a top-five player at the position for a long time — and a tremendous leader. He won the Norris Trophy in 2008-09 and probably deserved to win it another two or three times.
Chara helped the Bruins win the 2011 Stanley Cup over the Vancouver Canucks, ending the team’s 39-year championship drought.
He played a total of 14 seasons with the Bruins from 2006-07 through 2019-20. The Bruins reached the playoffs 11 times over that span, including three trips to the Stanley Cup Final.
Chara is the first longtime Bruins star from the last 15 years to be elected to the Hall of Fame. Patrice Bergeron, who isn’t eligible for a few more years, could be next. Brad Marchand deserves to go in at some point, too, but he’s still playing.