Zdeno "Big Z" Chára / zdenɔ ˈxaːra - Born March 18, 1977 in Trenčín, Czechoslovakia is a Slovak retired ice Hockey defenceman.

Chára is the tallest player in NHL history at 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) tall - Chára has said he is 6' - 8" tall.
Chára is a polyglot, speaking six languages outside of his native Slovak: Czech, Polish, Swedish, Russian, German, and English.

- NHL President's Trophy Champion 2003 with Ottawa Senators

- Stanley Cup Champion 2011 with Boston Bruins.
Stanley Cup finalist 2013, 2019.

- Prince of Wales Trophy Champion 2011, 2013, 2019 with Boston Bruins.

- James Norris Memorial Trophy Winner 2009 with Boston Bruins.

- Mark Messier Leadership Award Winner 2011 with Boston Bruins.

- IIHF World Ice Hockey Championships Silver Medal Winner 2000, 2012 with Slovakia. Voted tournament Best Defenceman in 2012

- World Cup of Hockey Silver Medal Winner 2016 with Team Europe.

Chára played in NHL All-Star Games 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012 winning the Hardest Shot competition in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, a NHL record of 5 times, and he holds the record with 108.8 mph (175.067 km/h) shot from 2012.

Chára made his NHL debut with New York Islanders on November 19, 1997 vs Detroit Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena in a 3-2 New York win.

Chára scored his 1st NHL goal vs Jimmy Waite of Phoenix Coyotes at 16:14 of 3rd period on January 29, 1999 at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in a 4-4 tie.

Chára played in 1680 regular season NHL games, scoring 209 goals (35 GWG / 3 OTG), 471 assists with 2085 penalty minutes and 200 NHL playoff games, scoring 18 goals (4 GWG), 52 assists with 218 penalty minutes.

Chára represented Slovakia at 7 World Ice Hockey Championships, 2 Winter Olympics and 2 World Cup of Hockey tournaments.

Chára is the oldest defenceman in NHL history to score a game-winning goal in the Stanley Cup playoffs (42 years and 30 days) vs Toronto Maple Leafs on April 17, 2019 at Scotiabank Arena in a 6-4 Boston win.

Chára is the oldest defenceman in NHL history to score a goal in the Stanley Cup Finals (42 years and 83 days) vs St. Louis Blues on June 9, 2019 at Enterprise Center in a 5-1 Boston win - empty net goal.

Chára is the 2nd European born and trained player to captain an NHL team to a Stanley Cup championship after Nicklas Lidström.

Chára was one of the first NHL players to endorse "You Can Play" and acceptance of gay players in professional Hockey.

Chára participated in the 2023 Boston Marathon to support the Hoyt Foundation and the Thomas E. Smith Foundation, finishing with a time of 3:38:23.
During Game 1 of the 2024 NBA Finals at TD Garden, the Boston Celtics honored Chára with the Heroes Among Us award in honor of his community service across New England. The Heroes Among Us award is the Celtics' community outreach award dating back to 1997

NOTE
Chára holds the NHL record for most games played by a defenceman with 1,680 regular season NHL games (200 NHL playoff games). He also missed the entire 2004-05 NHL season due to the NHL lockout and the lockout shortened 2012–13 NHL season, playing 48 games instead of 82, so his numbers could have been greater.