During an illustrious 24-year National Hockey League career that was capped off with yesterday’s selection to the Hall of Fame, Zdeno Chara was a towering presence on the skating rink.

Standing 6’9″ (7-feet on skates), the Slovakian born defenseman is still the tallest player in NHL history and was often described as a “monster on ice” because of his size and powerful presence.

For Lowell hockey fans of a certain age, however, Chara is more fondly recalled as a different kind of monster; a Lock Monster.

The man who captained the Boston Bruins to their 2011 Stanley Cup actually got his start as a pro with the New York Islanders organization.

In 1998, the Isles moved their minor-league affiliate to the Tsongas Center, leading to Chara skating for the cleverly named Lock Monsters. While notching only two goals and two assists, “Big Z’s” 47-penalty minutes in only 23-games offered an early glimpse into the physical style of play that marked his All-Star career

Guarding the blue line for the Monsters, Chara skated for a short period of time in front of Hall of Fame Goaltender Roberto Luongo, who also starred for the Mill City’s American Hockey League affiliate.

While Chara and Luongo went on to many productive years on ice, the Lock Monsters were eventually purchased by the New Jersey NHL franchise in 2006, becoming the Lowell Devils.

Ultimately, the team continued to struggle with attendance and after UMass Lowell purchased the Tsongas Center in February of 2010, the Devils days in the Mill City were numbered.

By the start of the 2010-11 AHL season, they’ve relocated to Albany, NY and Lowell’s twelve year relationship with professional hockey had ended.

In true Mill City sports fashion, Chara’s presence locally was further memorialized by another dearly departed professional sports franchise; the Lowell Spinners.

In August of 2023, the always creative Spinners commemorated the defenseman’s time along the banks of the Merrimack River with his own bobblehead doll.

Congratulations to Zdeno Chara; Hall of Famer, Stanley Cup champion, 6-time NHL All-Star, Norris Trophy winner for league’s Best Defenseman, and former Lowell Lock Monster.

Rare photo of Zdeno Chara in a Lock Monsters uniform, taken by Peter Sheeran during a game at the Tsongas Center in 1998. Chara is at the faceoff circle, just to the left of goalie Roberto Luongo.