Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara played the final three games of the NHL season, despite carrying a fractured leg.
Chara took a David Booth shot to his upper left ankle in Boston's 2-1 shoot-out victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on April 4, but proceeded to play on despite the injury.
The 38-year-old started in each of Boston's final three regular-season games - all of which were losses - as the Bruins fell out of Stanley Cup play-offs contention.
Chara, a defenseman, will need four weeks to recover from his fractured fibula, ruling him out of representing Slovakia at the IIHF World Championships in May.
He spent 73 minutes, 38 seconds on the ice in the final three games, but did not add to his scoring statistics for the season - finishing with eight goals and 12 assists for 20 points.
Chara missed the start of the season due to a knee ligament injury, playing only 63 of the Bruins' 82 outings this term.