Bruins captain Chara signed to 7-year extension

The Boston Bruins locked up star blue-liner Zdeno Chara on Saturday with a seven-year extension through the 2017-18 season.

Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli announced the signing prior to the Bruins' season opener against the Phoenix Coyotes in Prague. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The 33-year-old Chara, who is starting his fifth season with Boston, led the team last year with a plus-19 rating.

The Bruins captain also led the team's defencemen in scoring, with 44 points, including seven goals and 37 assists. He added two goals and five assists in the post-season.

Chara has recorded 363 points in 847 career regular-season games since he was drafted in the third round (56th overall) by the New York Islanders in 1996. He split eight seasons between the Isles and the Ottawa Senators before being signed by Boston as a free agent in 2006.

The four-time all-star won the Norris Trophy as the league's top defenceman in 2009.

Chara represented Team Slovakia in the 2006 and 2010 Olympics.