The Boston Bruins will be getting a boost when they return to action following the Olympic break. Pavel Zacha, who suffered an upper-body injury (which was later revealed to be a concussion) on Jan. 29 against the Philadelphia Flyers, was a full participant at the Bruins’ practice on Saturday after the veteran forward previously wore a red non-contact jersey throughout the week.
Zacha has consistently been one of the Bruins’ most important players since joining the club via trade in 2022 and any prolonged absence would have been a major hit for the team. Head coach Marco Sturm spoke at practice about how important Zacha is to the team.
“Very important,” said Sturm on Zacha’s importance to his line. “How they’ve been our shutdown line but also produce offensively. You can see it without [Zacha] in the lineup; we missed a little bit of faceoffs, power play. There are a lot of different areas where we kind of missed him. That’s why it’s so nice to have him out there fresh and healthy.”
With 15 goals and 37 points in 54 games so far this season, Zacha has already surpassed his goal-scoring output from a season ago and is well on pace to beat his point production. Whether it’s playing on the wing or down the middle, and regardless of his linemates, Zacha has worked his way into the team’s new core.
Though the Bruins dodged a bullet with Zacha’s injury, the 28-year-old’s ailment didn’t come without consequence.
Zacha Forced to Miss 2026 Olympic Games
The injury timeline meant that Zacha was forced to miss the 2026 Olympic Games in Italy, where he would have represented Czechia alongside David Pastrnak.
For Zacha, this would have been his first opportunity to represent his country at the Olympic level.
“That was one of the most frustrating things, especially when it’s something you were looking forward to. It was really hard,” said Zacha after practice on Wednesday. “It’s hard watching the games, knowing I can’t be there to experience it.”
It’s obvious why Zacha would be upset about losing out on this opportunity, but he’s seemingly been able to take it in stride and keep a positive mindset regarding what it means for the Bruins’ season.
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“On the other hand, it was good that I had some time to come back,” the Czech forward noted. “For our season, it’s going to be good for me to have some rest.”
It’s often said that the name on the front of the jersey means more than the name on the back. To an extent, it’s easy to contextualize things and realize that each player buying into the bigger picture is better for the team. At the same time, these players are human beings and they will undoubtedly have feelings about how things affect them more so than the team at times.
Even if Zacha knows that the time off he’s gotten to rest is a good thing for the team, it won’t immediately erase the feeling that he was robbed of the opportunity to represent his country. What’s done is done and he’ll ultimately have to push forward, but remembering that players are people first can go a long way in being empathetic to their situations.
When the Bruins return to action on Feb. 26, Zacha will almost certainly be in the lineup. For all involved, this is great news. With the Bruins currently occupying the second Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference and sitting just three points out of second place in the Atlantic Division, every single game will be vitally important moving forward.
