TORONTO -- Zdeno Chara left an impression on the Boston Bruins that will last forever.

But the defenseman's decision to sign with the Bruins on July 1, 2006, was made in a matter of minutes.

"When I became a free agent back then, we were not allowed to explore the cities and teams [ahead of time]," Chara said Sunday. "We basically had one phone line and my agent said, 'Hey, you have to be ready to make a decision because when [free agency] opens at noon, we don't know who is going to call."

Of course, the Bruins called and Chara signed a five-year contract, a move that put him on course to be a Boston legend and member of the Hockey Hall of Fame with the Class of 2025.

Chara told that story during the Inductee Fan Forum, an event started in 1999 as a suggestion of Wayne Gretzky wh

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