Is longtime Boston Bruins winger David Krejci having a change of heart?
Could Krejci return to play hockey over the Holidays?
For the Boston Bruins?
Based on what the 37-year-old Krejci told the Czech media at a ceremony honoring his longtime Boston Bruins teammate David Pastrnak as the Czech Player of the Year, that would be a yes to the first two questions and a no to the third.
From Czech Hockey Reporter Zdenek Jana:
Here’s your Google translation for that:
‘David Krejčí is still undecided about the future. He is attracted by the WC in Prague, so because of that he did not rule out that he is also considering an extra league… But according to his own words, he will not start the season right away, but maybe sometime around Christmas… There is also the option that it ends completely.’
Also, credit to Scott McLaughlin of WEEI for finding this report from Czech reporter Dominik Dubovci who had a quote from Krejci on his playing future:
“It’s all mixed up in my head. The main attraction is definitely the world championship in Prague. On the other hand, other things prevail, injuries and health. This is how I have it on the scales, up and down,” – per Google Translate.
This comes less than a week after two sources close to the longtime Boston Bruins center David Krejci had this to say to Boston Hockey Now:
“Yeah, nothing is absolute, but that’s where he is leaning towards,” a source close to the 37-year-old center told Boston Hockey Now on June 22 when asked if Krejci was retiring.
The other source told BHN, ‘He’s retiring’ on June 21.
It should be noted that hose sources never said retiring from hockey altogether, so that door was left open. Still, the news that Krejci may come back and play around the holidays in the Czech League again, and hopefully for his country in the 2024 World Championships next May, is a reversal of heart for Krejci. In his final media availability of the 2022-23 season on May 2, Krejci told reporters that he would either play for the Boston Bruins in the 2023-24 season or retire.
“No, it’s either come back [to the Bruins] or be done,” Krejci replied when asked if he would still play in Czechia even if he didn’t return to the Bruins. “If I come back, it would be [in the] NHL. I did what I did last year and I’m happy I did that. No regrets. But I closed the door, so I will make a decision soon. It would be NHL [and] obviously be the Bruins.”
On Tuesday, Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney and team president Cam Neely told the media that they don’t expect both Krejci and Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron back for the 2023-24 season.
“Yeah, I mean, for us, we have to kind of plan like they aren’t coming back until we hear otherwise,” Neely told reporters. “We would not be doing the organization a service if we planned that they are coming back and then they weren’t. So, for us, it’s kind of two paths going down two paths.
Hopefully, we’ll hear something soon, but we’re certainly going to give those guys the time that they need. I think as a player, you may think that you’re done, but then a month or two into the offseason, you’re like, ‘Oh, what am I going to do next winter?’
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