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The future is unsure for Boston Bruins’ heart, David Krejci. Last offseason, he returned to the NHL after taking a 12 months to play in his residence nation, Czechia. He signed a one-year contract to return to Boston and is now as soon as once more, an unrestricted free agent, together with Patrice Bergeron, who additionally signed a one-year contract final summer season.
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The door is clearly open for Krejci to return. The 37-year-old was a stable second-line heart as he’s been all through his profession. There can be nobody actually knocking on the door for his spot in the lineup. But the choice is up to him to play one other season in Boston or hang up his skates.
If Krejci finally chooses to retire, he’ll finish his profession as a Boston nice. While he might have usually been overshadowed by Brad Marchand and Bergeron, the previous second-round draft choose has been a constant contributor and clutch performer. He ranks ninth in factors in Bruins’ historical past and fifth in video games performed. He’s been an instrumental a part of the offense for over a decade.
Cementing the Legacy in 2022-23
The checklist of Krejci’s accolades is lengthy. While he’s all the time been a constant contributor, he additionally put collectively two of the Bruins’ finest playoff performances in 2011, once they final gained the Stanley Cup, and in 2013 once they misplaced in the Final to the Chicago Blackhawks. He has 128 factors in 160 profession playoff video games and 786 factors in 1,032 regular-season video games.
When he left Boston to play in Czechia in 2021, quite a bit was written about his legacy, because it was unsure if he would ever return to the NHL. His return this season added to his legacy. He registered 56 factors in 70 video games, fairly a feat for the 37-year-old. He was additionally a plus-20 and had an above-career common taking pictures proportion of 14.3%. The low factors have been thanks to lingering harm points that stored him out for some stretches, together with the playoffs.
The staff has struggled in latest seasons to discover constant offense, and with out Krejci, this turned much more clear. None of the choices they tried at heart clicked the identical manner, and the carousel of gamers slotted into the second line made it a problem to get constant factors from anybody apart from Bergeron, Marchand, or David Pastrnak.
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His return in 2022-23 introduced a stable second-line heart again to the staff, and with Pastrnak on his wing, as an alternative of Bergeron’s, they created a dynamic Czech line with Pavel Zacha. With the highest six solidified, the underside six was additionally ready to discover consistency. Even in the disastrous playoff collection in opposition to the Florida Panthers, the offense was one of many few components of the sport that also labored.
What the Future Holds
In an ideal world, each Krejci and Bergeron will re-sign and the staff runs it again in 2023-24. We don’t but know if anybody is prepared to step into the primary or second-line heart positions, and neither participant has dropped off sufficient for the staff to allow them to go; the choice is completely in their arms.
Krejci has not but stated something about his plans. If he does return, Pastrnak and Zacha can have new contracts heading into the season, so he’d have the chance to play on a line with each of them once more. That might be a purpose for him to play one other season.
Cap area is, after all, a problem. The contract he signed final season was price $3 million however solely carried a cap hit of $1 million – the remaining $2 million coming in efficiency bonuses. Both sides appeared proud of that deal, so I might anticipate a brand new one to be related.
The Bruins Going Forward
Krejci will all the time be remembered as a Bruins nice. He’s earned the suitable to make no matter determination he desires for the longer term, but when he doesn’t re-sign, the staff might be staring down a well-recognized drawback: what comes after Bergeron and Krejci?
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Zacha confirmed that he generally is a higher contributor than individuals anticipated after a disappointing tenure with the New Jersey Devils, however who is aware of if he’s prepared to be a primary or second-line heart. Some prospects from final 12 months’s draft might develop right into a top-six heart, however they’re nonetheless a number of seasons away. The cap area scenario additionally implies that they gained’t have the opportunity to make an enormous free company signing.
If Bergeron and Krejci don’t return on a team-friendly contract, the Bruins can have a ton of query marks at heart going into subsequent season. But, after shocking everybody with a historic season, I wouldn’t rely the Bruins out on being aggressive once more subsequent 12 months, even and not using a celebrity like Krejci.
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