Zdeno Chara sitting out of practice as he awaits COVID-19 test results from Sunday

The Boston Bruins captain was absent from the team’s first practice inside the NHL bubble.

On Sunday, the 24 playoff-eligible NHL teams officially reported to their respective bubble site in Canada. A full day after the news, the league announced that they received zero positive COVID-19 test results in the final week of training camp. While things went swimmingly, the Eastern Conference-leading Boston Bruins are playing the waiting game with their captain.

The Bruins announced that defenseman Zdeno Chara sat out of the team’s practice on Monday, as he’s yet to receive the results of his coronavirus test upon entering the bubble on Sunday.

Bruins wise to play it safe.

This news isn’t exactly doom and gloom. Rather, it’s more of Chara and the Bruins playing it safe by opting against practicing with his teammates as they await the final diagnosis. Chara wasn’t the only player to sit out of practice, as forwards Ondrej Kase and Nick Ritchie also sat out of practice. Important to note that Kase has yet to report to the Toronto bubble, where he’s expected to arrive at a later time.

Chara has played in 68 games for the Bruins prior to the coronavirus pandemic hitting North America, where he tallied five goals, nine assists, 101 blocks and 78 blocked shots while averaging 21:01 ice time per game.

This could very well be the last hurrah for Chara, as he’s set to hit the open market at the conclusion of this season at the age of 43. Prior to their trip to the Stanley Cup Final last year, Chara agreed to terms with the Bruins on a one-year, $2 million contract extension. Entering the bubble, the Bruins are the favorites to hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup and if they were to win it, that’d serve as the perfect swan song for Chara.

Of course, that all hinges on Chara’s pending COVID-19 test results, which should be arriving in the coming hours.