By Ty Anderson, 985TheSportsHub.com
Even after a five-game bowout to the Lightning, Bruins center David Krejci isn’t ready to close the door on his team’s window to compete.
“I still do feel that we still have something left in the tank,” the 34-year-old Krejci said. “I don’t want to look too much in the future, but hopefully we’ll start soon next season. Who knows when, but we’ll just be a few months older. I think we proved that we can still play; a good first round, Tampa we had one really bad game but other than that we were right there. We went two times in overtime.”
Nor is Krejci, whose contract is entering its final year (and at a team-high $7.25 million), ready to shut the door on his own window.
“I’m going to take a few weeks off and then start working hard, start preparing for whatever. What happens after next season will happen, but I definitely want to keep playing,” Krejci offered. “With this coronavirus still around, you never know. You never know what’s going to happen the week or the week after next. I’m just going to play it season by season I guess and kind of make decisions after next season, what is best for me and best for my family.”
A career-long Bruin, Krejci recorded 13 goals and 43 points during a 61-game regular season run that saw his chemistry with Jake DeBrusk evaporate into thin air at times. But it was in the postseason where Krejci threw the clock back, recording four goals and 11 points. Krejci recorded a point in all five of Boston’s first-round win over Carolina, and had two points in the B’s season-ending Game 5 overtime loss, including the game-tying strike that sent it to overtime in the first place.
“I still think we can compete,” Krejci said. “We can make a run.”
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That process will begin in the coming weeks, too, with Krejci getting himself ready for another uncertain run.
“For me, I am going to take a few weeks off and then start working out and just kind of see what’s going to happen,” the Czch pivot said. “The pandemic going on right now, we don’t know when were’ going to start. And also we don’t know what’s going to happen in the next few months.”
This 2020-21 season will be an incredibly interesting one for Krejci, too. The 1B to Patrice Bergeron’s 1A status for a decade now, Krejci has Charlie Coyle behind him on their depth chart, while center Jack Studnicka is the franchise’s top prospect. It’s enough to make you wonder how Krejci will fit into the B’s plans should their cap, which will stay flat this year, get tight come 2021.
Krejci ranks seventh on the franchise’s all-time games played list (911), and is eighth on their scoring list, with 686 points.
Ty Anderson is a writer and columnist for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Yell at him on Twitter: @_TyAnderson.