The Bruins get underway tonight for the first time in 14 seasons without Zdeno Chara.

I wanted to share some of my favorite memories of Big Z in this thread as he transformed from "the tall defenseman" into a part of the city's fabric

Some are well known, some less so

My favorite Chara fight - his first as a Bruin after an entire season.

Chara strayed away from this type of stuff in recent years but there's a reason why he was so feared.

Ask David Koci

My favorite shootout attempt ever.

Chara threatens DiPietro with facing the hardest slap shot in recording history, then taps it 5 hole https://twitter.com/dafoomie/status/1216966896546996230

Chara was a private guy so it was amazing to see his personality shine as the Captain in the All Star fantasy draft and also hear the respect from fellow superstars

My guy cycles the Tour de France course every summer (editors note: this is not the Tour de France)

My guy climbed Kilimanjaro

Everyone's shared this - but what a goofball!

His physical status is legendary, but what struck me of late is all the reporting about his legendary role as a mentor.

Here's an example from @wyshynski https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/21487102/nhl-bruins-captain-zdeno-chara-mentors-young-boston-blueliners-charlie-mcavoy

I mentioned him being part of the fabric of Boston. That includes dressing up to brighten spirits and deliver pies on Thanksgiving (that continued this year when he wasn't even still on the Bruins!)

To many the lasting image of Z is of him lifting the Cup in the air, knocking his hat off, but for me it's these. The clock has reached 0.0 and he towers over his teammates, welcoming them as they come to celebrate

that said, those pics pale in comparison to the best Zdeno Chara picture of all time.

a true legend.

Washington Capitals fans you're not getting a good one, you're getting the best one. You don't deserve it.