Things have been tough for the Boston Bruins lately. They had the best record in NHL history last season but lost in the first round to the Florida Panthers in seven games.
We knew things weren’t going to be the same from there. They lost some key players in trades but nothing will hit them harder than the retirement of Patrice Bergeron. He is one of the greatest two-way forwards who ever lived.
Now, we know he isn’t the only Bruin going out via retirement. On Monday, we learned the same fate is here for David Krejci.
After taking a year off from the NHL, Krejci came back to the Bruins in 2022-23 and was awesome for them. He and Bergeron were as good as a 1-2 punch as they’ve been and now they are both done.
The Bruins released this from David Krejci on social media:
A statement from David Krejci. pic.twitter.com/tVWAMsWAr8
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) August 14, 2023
David Krejci was a very important player for the Boston Bruins in his career.
David Krejci was as important to the Boston Bruins’ success as anyone. He doesn’t get the credit that some other players through that era do but he should. Not only was he great, he became even greater when the stakes were high.
Krejci was a second-round pick (63rd overall) in the 2004 NHL Draft. If that were redone, he’d certainly go much higher. He went on to play 1032 games and had 231 goals and 555 assists for 786 points.
Krejci was also responsible enough in his own end no matter who his line-mates were. He wasn’t this massive goal scorer but he was as good as any play-maker in the league for a long time. The Bruins were lucky to have him.
Krejci’s retirement following Bergeron’s means that only Milan Lucic, Brad Marchand, and Tyler Seguin remain from the 2011 Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins. Time has certainly gone by quickly.
It is a new era for the Boston Bruins now without Krejci and Bergeron. Pavel Zacha and Charlie Coyle are going to (at least to start) take over the 1-2 center roles. We’ll see if that is good enough for the regular season to get them into the playoffs.
It is hard to go from the best team ever to missing the postseason in back-to-back years but losing two franchise centers who were on team-friendly deals is going to hurt. They have to hope that their depth at every other position comes through.
There is also a chance that they go out and shop for other centers to come in via trade. The Bruins will be all in on winning and you never know what is available midway through the year.
For right now though, it is fair to just be happy for David Krejci. He is an all-time Bruins player that deserves love and respect. We’ll see how they honor him in the coming years.