It’s another busy off-season for the Boston Bruins, and like last summer, the team awaits decisions on the futures of their top two centers. Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci are deciding again if they will return to play for the Bruins during the 2023-24 season. As was the case last season, the Bruins have limited cap space, and any deal made with either of their two longtime stars would have to be creative, with a similar bonus structure and money moved to the following year. But will Bergeron and Krejci return?
In Bergeron’s case, the 2023 postseason did not end as predicted, both as a team and personally for Bergeron. The captain suffered a herniated disc during the last game of the season in Montreal and missed the first four games of the first-round series with Florida. At the time, the Bruins led the series three games to one, but upon the return of their top-line center, the Panthers proceeded to win the final three games and upset the Bruins, with Bergeron suffering a rare minus-6 in the three losses. Bergeron gave what seemed to be a last twirl after the Game 7 loss to Florida and was in tears after the game.
The loss can’t sit well with Bergeron, who has played 1,294 NHL games all with Boston. The Quebec native has hinted during the last couple of seasons about retiring and returning home, and now with his fourth child on the way, it will be a difficult decision for Bergeron. My sense is that the five-time Selke Award winner will return for one last farewell tour. But you never know.
Krejci is a different story. After taking a one-year hiatus from the NHL to play the 2021-22 season in his native Czechia, the playmaking center returned to Boston on an incentive-laden deal and performed admirably with 16 goals and 40 assists in 70 regular season games but was also injured toward the end of the season and played just four playoff games with four points, three of those points in Game 7. Krejci was a terrific postseason performer over his 16 seasons with Boston, totaling 128 points in 160 playoff games.
In Krejci’s case, this past season felt like a last hurrah. Reports are that people close to Krejci believe that he is done in the NHL. If that is the case, you can bet that David Krejci Night” will be scheduled very soon after the start of the season. I wouldn’t expect the former 63rd overall draft pick in the 2004 NHL Draft to lace up the skates for the Bruins again.
