Felger: David Krejci was an ‘underrated two-way player’

In a statement today released from the Boston Bruins, forward David Krejci announced his retirement from hockey as a member of the Boston Bruins.

Michael Felger and Tony Massarotti gave their thoughts on Krejci's retirement and comment on how important he was in the 2011 Boston Bruins Stanley Cup championship run.

Transcript:

Felger: It's our number two Pilgrim's reentry Monday, brought to you by Bluebird Plumbing. That, to me was the signature David Krejci play of his career as the Boston Bruins. That's why we play that. And if you want a little Bruins endorphins the middle of August. Go watch that play. Just Google it on YouTube. The Nathan Horton game winner. Game seven against Tampa. Eastern Conference Finals at the Garden. What a terrific terrific end to end play by the Bruins picked up remember the old 1-3-1 forecheck that that Tampa team had with. Guy Boucher won with a 1-3-1 neutral zone trap like that for checking scheme very passive sort of clog up the neutral zone kind of scheme the Bruins on that play just absolutely picked it apart and a sneaky really good play by Andrew Ference to get it going but it was David Krejci that set that thing up and it was a tap in goal for Nathan Horton that sent them on the way to the Stanley Cup final and their only Stanley Cup in the last whatever, 50 years. And so David Krejci retired today as a member of the Boston Bruins. Not a surprise but just an opening to give a couple thoughts. Do you have any Mazz?

Mazz: Yeah, look again, I thought Krecji was instrumental and I think he could have been the Conn Smythe winner if it weren't for Tim Thomas that year. And overall, I would tell you had a good career. I like Krecji. He's a creative player. Wasn't the fastest guy on the ice or the strongest guy in the ice. Might have been the most creative thinker on the ice and exceptional passer. And so, look, you know, the gap between him and Bergeron is not huge. You know, I thought Bergeron was a better player, but, you know, Krejci deserves his do. He had a big part in Bruins history.

Felger: Great player class act I think he's looked at as a great player here. I do wonder how he's looked at nationally by you know hockey fans because I feel like he probably doesn't get his proper due from national hockey like national hockey fans throughout the league he's properly rated here but I don't know is he looked at as like one of the top 25 centers of the last 20 years. Probably not outside of here. No, I doubt it. Yeah. I don't think he gets mentioned like that. He was really one of my favorite Bruins for this run. I loved watching him play. Why say favorite Bruins Just just watching him play again. Not as a guy. Not nothing was a bad guy or anything. But when I say, you know, I really grew to respect Chara and Bergeron and obviously those guys and I think Krejci hit that level sort of as a character guy or Bruin. I'm just I'm about the way that he played. He was a pleasure to watch. I thought he was so sweet to watch play, and certainly he was not the two way player that Bergeron is or was. So he's probably not the better player. He's not. But remember when you went to the Cup in 2011 and 2013, he was your number one center. That Horton line, the Krejci Horton Lucic line was your number one line and Bergeron and Marchand were the second line. Go look at the minutes. Go look at how they were used. David Krejci was your number one center. When you won a cup and Bergeron was your number two center when you want a cup, The passing was obviously brilliant. He had one of the best saucer passes I've ever seen. His saucer pass is just elite. Elite elite. I put it up there with just about anyone short of like Wayne Gretzky or someone like that. I think he was underrated. Two way player. He wasn't. He wasn't, you know, he was like Bergeron in his own end or on the face Off circle. But you weren't in it. It was like you out of big deficiency when it when he was on the ice. I mean we'll put you like this. Claude used him in all those situations. Claude gave him more ice time than Patrice Bergeron. And we all know how Claude feels about his own end. So I think that Croce was over always underrated in his end. I think, you know, sort of. I think some of that speaks to how great he was is that he put up these great numbers and these great, you know, scoring years, points, years, assists, years. And he never really had a guy. You know, he was he was in the lineage of Craig Janney or Adam Oates or one of those guys. Janney had Cam Neely, Oates had Neely, Oates played with Brett Hull, for Pete's sake. Who was David Krejci's best winger? You know, it was probably Horton or Lucic for a time. But, you know, Lucic is a hack. I say that with all the love and respect in my heart. When Krejci first broke in, it was Michael Ryder. Who could score it scoring touch. But Krejci never played with a guy. What if he played with the guy? You know, can you imagine him with his passing ability if he played with a legit goal scoring wing? You know, he never had one his whole career. And yet despite that, he's ninth all time in the franchise in points.

Listen to Felger and Mazz from 2-6 every Monday-Friday on 98.5 The Sports Hub, with hosts Mike Felger, Tony “Mazz” Massarotti, and Jim Murray “Big Jim”. You can listen live in the Sports Hub App and subscribe to their podcasts here. Follow @FelgerAndMazz on Twitter to keep up with the show!

And the hits just keep on coming for the Bruins at the center position.

Mere weeks after Bruins captain and perennial contention lifeline Patrice Bergeron decided to retire from the game (and while he was still at the top of his game as a player), David Krejci has officially followed, with Krejci formally announcing his retirement from the NHL at 9 a.m. on Monday.

Krejci's decision to call it a career comes after 16 years with the Bruins, including a one-year return to Boston this past season following a 2021-22 campaign spent with Krejci's hometown Olomouc HC in Czechia.

Krejci put out his statement confirming the decision via the Bruins.

The return to the NHL this past season came with some proof that the 37-year-old could still bring a little something something to a roster, as Krejci put up 16 goals and 56 points in 70 games in a second-line role for the club. It was Krejci's most productive season since his 20 goals and 73 points in 2018-19, and his 44 even-strength points actually ranked as the sixth-most he’s had in any season in his NHL career.

The center of a 'Czech Line' with Pavel Zacha on the left and David Pastrnak to the right, Krejci was unfortunately limited towards the end of the regular season with a lower-body injury, and missed three of Boston’s seven playoff games with an upper-body injury that he opted not to disclose even with his season over.

Krejci was as emotional as ever when discussing Boston's failure to get out of the first round this past postseason, too, comparing the sting of it to the 2019 Stanley Cup Final. (That was always a sign that this return to Boston was going to be a one-and-done for the Czech playmaker.)

“I have lost some tough years before, but this one I would put probably right next to 2019,” Krejci admitted at break-up day back in May. “This one’s going to hurt.”

A second-round pick of the Bruins back in 2004, Krejci spent his entire 1,032-game NHL career with the Bruins, breaking into the league in 2006-07 but cementing himself as a full-time player in 2007-08.

Krejci's true 'explosion' at the NHL came the following year, too, where he put up a career-high 73 points skating on a line with Blake Wheeler and Michael Ryder. That year saw Krejci finish sixth in the Selke Trophy voting, along with 13th on the end-of-year All-Star team voting at the center position.

But Krejci was perhaps most known for being "Playoff Krejci," with Krejci often elevating his game to a higher level in the postseason. Krejci's playoff effectiveness was first noted when the Bruins were reverse-swept following Krejci's series-ending wrist injury against the Flyers in the 2010 second round, and truly came to the table for the Bruins in 2011 when Krejci led the entire playoffs in scoring on the way to a Stanley Cup. Krejci also led the playoffs in scoring in 2013, though the Bruins would come up short in a six-game war with the Blackhawks.

There was also something to be said for the Bruins' inability to go on deep runs when Krejci was ailing and out of the lineup or at less than 100 percent, such as 2009, 2012, and 2023.

Overall, Krejci retires from the Bruins with 43 goals and 128 points in 160 career playoff games with the Bruins, with his 43 goals ranking sixth and his 128 points tied with Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron for the second-most in franchise history. Extending that scope beyond Boston, only six NHL players scored more playoff points than Krejci from 2008 through 2023. That list includes Joe Pavelski, Patrick Kane, Alex Ovechkin, Nikita Kucherov, Sidney Crosby, and Evgeni Malkin.

Krejci will retire from the Bruins as one of just seven skaters to play at least 1,000 games with the Bruins, with his 1,032 games in a Boston sweater ranking fifth on the club's all-time list. His 231 goals, meanwhile, are 13th on the franchise leaderboard, while his 786 points are the ninth-most by any player in the century-long history of the club.

Krejci's retirement also means that Brad Marchand and Milan Lucic are the last Bruins standing from the 2011 Stanley Cup team (and it's worth noting that Lucic had an eight-year excursion out of Boston), while Tyler Seguin is the other 'last man standing' out in Dallas, with every other active member of that playoff roster formally retired.