Zdeno Chara and Patrice Bergeron, two of the Bruins’ pillars of strength, pulled up their Black-and-Gold stakes Tuesday and officially joined new teams — Chara going to Prague in the Russian-based Kontinental Hockey League and Bergeron to HC Lugano in Switzerland.

While the National Hockey League remains dark, its training camps and arenas closed because of a lockout, top talents such as Chara and Bergeron have decided not to wait around while league owners and union bosses dither over crafting a new collective bargaining agreement.