Bruins' Chara: PCL in left knee permanently torn

Zdeno Chara tore through the league in a different way this season.

The Boston Bruins' workhorse defenseman missed 19 games early on with a knee injury, and revealed Monday that he's been playing on a permanently-torn posterior cruciate ligament (PCL).

The 38-year-old averaged 23:21 of ice time in 63 games, his lowest since 2001-02, when he was a member of the Ottawa Senators.

Chara added that he will not need surgery, and that the knee has stabilized and healed to the point where he feels he can return to peak form next season.

This will likely need to be the case in order for the Bruins to rebound on the fly from a disappointing season.