Rare is the occurrence when a free agent is signed by a team and then that player immediately becomes captain.

But Zdeno Chara was a rare breed indeed and, after he signed his deal with the Bruins before the 2006-07 season, the “C” was stitched on his jersey, remaining there for the next 14 years.

B’s coach Marco Sturm was already a member of the team when Chara arrived. As Sturm recalled, he arrived with a bang.

“The one practice we had – and this is still my favorite story – when guys didn’t go hard enough, he grabbed our tough guy and he had a fight in practice because he was not going hard enough,” said Sturm, declining to name the tough guy. “He got him out and all of a sudden, the Bruins’ culture and practice changed from that day. That was just amazing. We worked hard, we had fun, but it was all business when we practiced. That’s something I’m reminding guys here, too, and I did a month ago because I didn’t like our practices. That story comes up a lot. That story came up in LA, too, and it came up with the guys in Ontario (AHL) because I thought it was a game-changer. It really was. And by one punch.”

The first year under one-and-done coach Dave Lewis did not go well, but the next season under Claude Julien, the B’s would start a run of seven straight playoff seasons that would include the club’s first Stanley Cup in 39 seasons in 2011.

But from the beginning, the arrival of Chara – arguable the best free agent signing in NHL history – was what turned the franchise around.

“Just his presence alone, the size of him first of all…he had to learn how to be a leader and a captain, believe it or not. But his demanding to be the best every night and the demands of all of us, and of every team, he put is in an uncomfortable spot a lot of times because he’s pushing us so hard,” said Sturm. “I think that’s what good leaders do. Everyone has ways to do it. He’s a straightforward guy and with his size and everything, when he spoke up in the room, everyone was listening. And not just in the room but also on the ice, the way he led the team every night. He was a perfect example.”

Chara’s leadership was unquestioned by the time David Pastrnak arrived in Boston in 2014. There was noting complicated about his new captain’s style.

“It’s as simple as picking up his work ethic, the way he works and shows up to the rink every day and leads by example. There’s no other way than to follow him. That’s the easiest way to put it,” said Pastrnak. “He showed up and you followed him, with no excuse, because that’s the way he approached every single day – and still does to this day, even after retirement.”

While Chara clearly had a no-nonsense approach, it would be a mistake to think of him simply as a spartan, exacting figure who only made life for his teammates tougher. When he arrived in Boston, he made it a point of making a rookie feel as much of a stakeholder as any veteran. In fact, he didn’t even like the word “rookie,” using the term “first-year player” instead.

“The best thing about Boston, you try to make everyone comfortable in the locker room,” said Pastrnak. “And that’s what he makes sure of, that everyone is comfortable in the room and feeling confident enough to speak up and have a voice. It’s a big credit to him. It helped me a lot and it’s something that’s in this locker room and I don’t think it will ever go away.”

It sounds like a simple and logical approach but, as Sturm recalled, it was a radical change from when he broke into the league just a few years before.

“I remember Owen Nolan, if you remember him, he asked me ‘Do you even talk?’” said Sturm with a chuckle. “But I had so much respect. Yeah, I knew the language but not as good as I do now. But I was just afraid. I was afraid to talk. I just had so much respect for the guys and we had so many older guys on the team. Then after year one, year two, I started to open up a little bit. But not just me. Other guys, too, maybe not as bad. But now look at the young kids. Totally different. But it was a different time.”…

Pastrnak was sporting a nasty swollen black eye, courtesy of a check he tried to deliver in the B’s win over the Red Wings. As he moved in for contact, he said the intended target raised his elbow to pass the puck and caught him square in the right eye area.

“Yeah, it doesn’t feel great,” said Pastrnak….

On Friday, the B’s will head to Chicago and then Dallas and the players will have their siblings in tow for the annual family trip.