BOSTON — Pavel Zacha skated at Warrior Ice Arena on Wednesday, the first day the Boston Bruins resumed practice during the Olympic break. It was not where the center was supposed to be.
Zacha should have been an ocean away with his Czech countrymen. The do-it-all center could have been a difference-maker in Czechia’s 4-3 overtime loss to Canada.
Instead, Zacha was wearing a red non-contact jersey. For now, the upper-body injury that cost him a Stadium Series appearance and his Olympic debut has improved to the point where he could play in the Bruins’ Feb. 26 post-break kickoff against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
It is not much consolation for a dashed Olympic dream.
“That was one of the most frustrating things,” Zacha said. “You do things you’re excited for: the outdoor game and the Olympics, especially mid-season. Making the decision of not going was really hard. Even watching the games now, it’s hard to watch a little bit because I can’t be there and experience it. It wasn’t the easiest. On the other hand, not missing too many games in the regular season because of the break, it’s also good that I had some time to slowly come back, which is nice.”
On Jan. 27 against the Nashville Predators, Elias Lindholm had to leave early because of an upper-body injury. One game later, it was Zacha’s turn to exit prematurely. At first, Zacha did not think it was serious enough to cost him his overseas flight.
“I thought right away that I’m going to be going. Because it was getting better,” Zacha said. “Then it was stagnant. It started to get worse. Three days it was good. Then it started to get worse the next five, six days. With the timeline after a week and a half, I kind of knew it was probably not going to happen.”
Both Olympic centers were out for the Bruins’ 6-5 shootout loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning at Raymond James Stadium.
Lindholm recovered enough to report to Olympic duty for Sweden. Zacha did not have the same fortune.
Upon consultation with general manager Don Sweeney and Czech GM Jiri Slegr, all parties concluded that pulling Zacha from the Olympic roster was the prudent decision. Zacha was replaced by Filip Chlapik, who has been playing for Sparta Praha in the Czech Extraliga.
“Timing is everything. Unfortunately, timing was not on his side,” said coach Marco Sturm. “Him and Elias were in exactly the same boat. We just didn’t know. ‘Can they go? Can they not?’ Elias tried and ended up being fine. Pav just couldn’t. So it’s just very unfortunate. I know he was really pumped. You only have those opportunities once in a while.”
It did not take long this season for Zacha to become a Sturm favorite. He has checked just about every box: stabilizing the No. 2 line between Casey Mittelstadt and Viktor Arvidsson, being a dependable running mate for David Pastrnak when necessary, killing penalties, playing both goal line and bumper positions on the No. 1 power-play unit, taking faceoffs. He has been the Bruins’ most consistent all-around center, critical to the Bruins’ turnaround. He has 37 points, fourth-most on the team.
In fact, the Bruins have gained enough traction in the playoff race — they are the No. 2 wild card right now, four points north of the Blue Jackets — that moving Zacha before the March 6 trade deadline has practically become a non-starter. It would torpedo the Bruins’ final sprint, tick off Pastrnak and create multiple situational shortcomings because of how completely Zacha touches the game.
So even if Zacha could bring back more than last year’s Charlie Coyle return (Mittelstadt, prospect Will Zellers and a 2025 second-rounder), it would be a transaction that could undo all the forward steps the Bruins have completed.
“He’s definitely on the right track,” Sturm said. “So hopefully it’s going to continue like this so we can have him back at 100 percent.”
The Bruins are scheduled to practice on Thursday and Saturday this week. They will have three more days the following week to prepare for the Blue Jackets. If there is any solace to Zacha’s waylaid Olympic experience, it’s that he will have a productive block of practice and recovery to prime himself for the final 25 games.
“Taking some time off in the long run for our season is going to be good to have,” Zacha said. “I’m trying to think about it positively, even though the first couple days it was hard to think positively at all about this. On the other hand, for our season, it’s going to be good for me to have some rest and be ready for the season.”