August 2: HC Olomouc of the Czech Extraliga announced that they’ve signed Krejci to a one-year contract. Krejci spent time in that program 20 years ago, playing in 26 games in 2000-01 with their Under-18 squad.
July 30: The highest name remaining on our Top 50 UFA list was David Krejci, who was eerily quiet through the first two days of free agency. Now we know why. The veteran forward has announced that he will not be returning to the Boston Bruins or signing with any other NHL team, explaining that he will return to play in the Czech Republic.
Though he doesn’t call it retirement, Krejci’s NHL career is over for the time being:
Since the end of the season, as I have thought about my future, it has become clear that I need to make a difficult decision for my family and I. At this point in my career and life I need to return to the Czech Republic and play in front of my family who sacrificed so much to help me achieve my NHL dreams. I want to play in front of my parents, brother and friends. I want my children to live where I grew up, spend time with so many Czech family members who love them and create lifelong memories.
It seemed odd when the Bruins decided to fill so many spots at the start of free agency, signing Nick Foligno, Erik Haula, Derek Forbort, Linus Ullmark and Tomas Nosek, while also committing money to re-signing Taylor Hall and Mike Reilly. Now it’s clear that there was never a need to save roster or cap space for Krejci after all.
The 35-year-old center has been one of the most consistent players in the NHL over his 15-year career, recording 730 points in 962 games. Every single one of those contests was completed while wearing the spoked B of the Bruins, most of them without stable linemates. For what has seemed like his entire career, the Bruins had been searching for a true partner to Krejci on the second line, something they had appeared to have finally found in Hall, though it will turn out to be too late. This decision now opens up more questions about how coach Bruce Cassidy will deploy his group, and who will anchor that second spot behind captain Patrice Bergeron.
Perhaps one of the most underrated players of his era, Krejci has been a huge reason for the Bruins’ success. In the 2011 Stanley Cup championship, it was a 24-year-old Krejci, not Bergeron, who led the entire playoffs in scoring with 12 goals and 23 points. Two years later when the Bruins would make it back to the Finals, it was again Krejci who led the league with 26 postseason points. Overall, should he not return to the NHL, he’ll finish with 124 points in 156 career playoff games, including eight game-winning goals.
With Foligno and Haula joining the Bruins and Charlie Coyle still in the mix, the team will have options at the center ice position. But it’s hard to imagine any of them filling the role that Krejci did, even up to this season. In 51 games, he may have scored just eight goals, but still managed to rack up 44 points.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Wow, Jagers team I imagine
Is Jager’s team back in the top division?
*Jagr
HOLY MOLY
Good for him.
B’s have a giant hole in their lineup now. Not sure how they fill it.
I’d joke and say Eichel but I doubt they could manage that financially OR futures wise in regards to a trade. Gotta imagine they’re considering now tho, no?
Hmm…gotta think Eichel’s hoping for that. I just took a quick look at their roster and it doesn’t seem like they have the assets…UNLESS…
They want to do something crazy and offer, say, Pastarnak straight up for Eichel and then trade for, wait for it, Phil Kessel from Arizona to backfill that spot.
Yeah Eichel would love to play with Hall again. Instant chemistry there
Good Luck David Krejci in your future endeavors. In looking at line ups on Cap Friendly for Bruins , I see a opportunity for Charlie Coyle at 2nd Line Center , barring any signings or trades before September Training Camps open,
link to capfriendly.com
Okay, I’ll play devil’s advocate here: Krejci leaving is fine.
A) He’s 35 years old. God bless him… god bless his B’s tenure, god bless the great playoff performances… he’s 35 years old.
B) For years he had the biggest cap hit on a team featuring Bergeron, Marchand, and Rask. God bless a playmaking 2nd-line center, but it’s been many years since he was worth $7.25 million per year. And speaking of Bergeron…
C) Krejci was never even the best center on his own team. They fed him a myriad of wingers in an attempt to solidify that 2nd line (Rick Nash, Backes, Beleskey, Spooner, Kase, Eriksson, Johansson, Stempniak, among many more) and despite some decent assist totals, it never really worked. Fortunately the Hall-Krejci-Smith line worked, but let’s remember they still have 2 of those folks, which means…
D) That’s what Foligno/Coyle/Nosek/Studnicka are for. Ideally one of them will be perfectly able to feed Taylor Hall goals going forward.
So yeah, if point D above ends up not working out, then I will mourn Krejci playing in the Czech Republic, but a lot of this crying and rending of garments seems overdone. We can move on, and must.
I disagree. Krejci has always been underrated & under appreciated on the Bruins. He was always better than he was given credit for. Hall needs a pass first center. Coyle isn’t going to work with Hall. Their styles of play don’t mesh. That will be a disaster. Nosek is a 4th liner. Foligno is more of a left winger than he is a center. Haula can play top six, but he’s better suited as 3rd line center. Studnicka is the wild card. If he can come in to his own, he’s the one guy who has the ability to fill that void. Otherwise, they’ll be in the market for a center come trade deadline time
I agree the things he does well haven’t always been given kudos, but parts of the internet are acting like him leaving for Czech is the equivalent of Phil Esposito, Johnny Bucyk, and Bobby Orr all leaving on the same day. It’s a gap that can be filled.
Hopefully… ;-)
Oh boy. Somebody’s binkie is gone.
And there goes the NHL season for the B’s …..
Good bye, thanks but we are done. 7.5 cleared for someone worth it.
If you haven’t noticed that money for a 2nd line center has already been spent.
I did notice, just stating the obvious.
This just put a big hole in this team with no money to fill it Sweeney gets a big F for the us offseason the Hall signing now looks like a big mistake because he can play with Coyle
They do have DeBrusk to trade but you’d be lucky to get a 4th for him
What else would expect from O’Connell, he’s been a huge disappointment. Three consecutive high first round picks and nothing to show for it. He should have been fired long time ago. B’s need someone from outside the organization to run this team. Cam is just a figurehead with obviously no major impact,sad. SMH.
A heavy loss — never mind that Krejci is, in my seriously biased opinion, one of the great playoff performers of the entire expansion era — but it’s true he is getting no younger.