Zdeno Chara, who suffered a knee injury on Oct. 23 that kept him out until Dec. 11 this past season, expects to return to form in 2015-16, the Boston Herald reports.

Chara, who suffered a knee injury on Oct. 23 that kept him out until Dec. 11 this past season, expects to return to form in 2015-16, the Boston Herald reports.

Analysis:

Chara, who finished the 2014-15 campaign with 20 points in 63 games, to go along with 42 PIM, acknowledged that he was not 100  percent when he returned to action. Per CSN New England, Chara plans to wear a brace on his left knee while continuing to play on a balky PCL ligament that has at least been stabilized. On the plus side, the 38-year-old Chara won't need knee surgery this offseason, which should allow the fitness-minded blueliner to be as close to full strength as possible in advance of the 2015-16 campaign. "Coming back from a knee [injury] is always the most difficult to come back from," Chara said Monday. "Now it's 100 percent. One ligament is completely torn, but the rest of them are unaffected. So that saved me. If one of those [other ligaments] were torn, then I would have needed surgery. ACL, MCL … any of those and I would have needed surgery. You can be without [the PCL], and then it stabilizes after a few months."