David Krejci gets brutally honest about future with Bruins
Bruins center David Krejci sounds like a man who’s legitimately unsure what the future holds for him.
“I’ve obviously thought about [my future] a lot, not just the last couple of days but the whole season, pretty much,” Krejci admitted Friday. “I’m not going to give you an answer right now. I’m going to need a few weeks, think about lots of things. Talk to lots of people. I love Boston. We’ll see what happens. See what happens.”
Part of Boston’s one-two punch with Patrice Bergeron down the middle for well over a decade now, the 2021 season was Krejci’s 15th with the Bruins, but also the final year of a six-year, $43.5 million extension signed in 2014.
Krejci also noted that he did not have any talks with the Bruins during the season (that was by design), and sounded genuine when talking about the uncertainty surrounding his next deal, which he was adamant is not going to be based around money.
“It’s not about money,” Krejci said. “I guess that’s all I can tell you: My next deal is not going to be based on money. Today, I can tell you, it’s not going to be about money. And at the same time, I just can’t see myself playing for a different team. We’ll see what happens I guess. I don’t even know. I talked to my parents, and they asked me, I can’t even give them a straight answer.
“I just don’t know right now. I just don’t know.”
Listening live, I got to admit that these quotes felt a little strange. Especially when it came to his admission that he can’t even give his parents a straight answer about his future about what’s next. But Krejci interviews always have a tendency to be a little different, and perhaps this is no different. A repeated “we’ll see” about the future is always tough to read, especially after the Torey Krug situation in 2020. (It’s entirely possible that Krejci is simply playing coy until the expansion draft so that the Bruins don’t have to leave another player of significant value exposed.)
But Krejci also readdressed his long-rumored plans to at some point return to play in his home country.
“You guys write a lot that I wanted to finish my career in Czech, which has not changed,” Krejci admitted. “But when I said that, I was younger. I’m a husband. I’m a dad, I have two kids. They’re getting older. So yes, I still, at one point, would like to finish my career in Czech [but] for different reasons now than when I first said it. I would like my kids to speak my language because my parents don’t speak any English. My kids don’t speak Czech. I would like them to learn the language.
“But again, when that’s going to happen, or if that’s going to happen, we’ll see. I’m going to try to get away from the game a little bit now and think about lots of things. Spend some time with my family and just go from there.”
The 35-year-old Krejci ranks seventh on the Bruins’ all-time assist (515) and games played (962) leaderboard, while his 730 career points are the eighth-most in franchise history.
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.
