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Washington Capitals: 5 players who won’t be back in 2021

By Michael Marzzacco

Brenden Dillon, Washington Capitals (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
Brenden Dillon, Washington Capitals (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /
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Zdeno Chara, Washington Capitals (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
Zdeno Chara, Washington Capitals (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images) /

Zdeno Chara

It was really cool having Zdeno Chara on the Washington Capitals even though it only lasted for one season. Chara is still pondering whether he wants to suit up for a 24th season or hang up his skates for retirement. Either way, Chara had a storied career and won a lot of respect in that locker room.

Chara was mostly on the third pair with Nick Jensen and after a down year for Jensen, Chara as his partner helped him improve his game. Chara finished with two goals and eight assists for 10 points.

Chara had some decent advanced stats too. He had a Corsi For percentage of 49.50 percent, a 52.33 percent Expected Goals For percentage, and a 53.45 percent High Danger Chances For percentage.

Chara and Jensen, when paired together, had a combined Corsi For percentage of 48.63 percent, an Expected Goals For percentage of 51.42 percent, and a 52.52 percent High Danger Chances For percentage (advanced stats courtesy of the lovely Natural Stat Trick).

My favorite part of having Chara on the Caps wasn’t what he did on the ice but how he made the team chemistry gel off the ice. There’s a reason Alex Ovechkin loves to play “Find Big Zee” in the tunnel during warmups.

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