The Boston Bruins must not put David Krejci on LTIR.
The Boston Bruins are in serious trouble, and the recent string of injuries isn’t making life any easier at the TD Garden. B’s defenseman Kevan Miller is out for the season. David Krejci is out for at least 4-6 weeks with a partially torn MCL. The Bruins have an option for some of their troubles though, although it’s not a very good idea for them to use it.
The Bruins could put Krejci on long-term injured reserve. Doing this would allow the Black and Gold to use Krejci’s $5.25 million cap hit on another player. The Chicago Blackhawks initiated a similar play Wednesday afternoon by placing forward Patrick Kane on injured reserve.
This is a woefully bad idea for the Bruins. Here is why.
1.) It can cause bad blood between the Bruins and Krejci.
David Krejci has played his entire NHL career in Boston. He did his time bouncing back and forth between Boston and Providence, learning English along the way. He’s one of those players that could end up with his name in the rafters when he decides to call it a career. Alienating one of the Bruins alternate captains by dumping him on the sidelines for a short-term rental would be crazy.
Krejci wants to get heal up and get back in the game as soon as humanly possible.
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“That question is for the management, but no, I don’t want to sit out,” said the Bruins alternate captain on Tuesday. “I want to play, obviously. If there’s only a little chance I can play, I would like to play. The management has to do whatever they feel is right for the team to get our team into the playoffs. It’s not any easy decision for them, but he’s been making good decisions since I’ve been here and I’m pretty sure he’s going to make the right one again.”
Krejci has been a solid leader for the Bruins on-and-off the ice. He was promoted to alternate captain with the departure of Andrew Ference. He understands what he needs to do, and he understands what the front office needs to do. If Krejci thinks he’s ready, and the B’s don’t, that kind of resentment could linger when Krejci’s contract comes up for review in a few seasons.
“I just want to get back as soon as I can and as healthy as I can be,” Krejci said. “I know they said 4-6 weeks, but I’m going to treat my knee every day. I’m going to do the best I can to be back as fast as I can. It’s been a tough season with all the injuries and stuff, but at this point you’ve got to stay positive. There’s a saying [that] what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, right? I’ve got to stay positive and work my way back and try to be a better player than I was.”
2.) Cam Neely doesn’t like the idea.
Cam Neely was asked by 98.5 The Sports Hub on Tuesday about using the LTIR option for Krejci and Miller. Miller is out for the season due to shoulder surgery. The problem is his contact is a fraction of Krejci’s and won’t be of much help getting the B’s some short-term assistance.
“That is an option and it is our option,” said the Bruins President. “But, having said that, you have to be cap compliant if someone comes back from injury. So, you can’t be over the cap because you put someone on long term injury, you added a bunch of cap dollars.”
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When later pressed on whether the Bruins would be aggressive or conservative, Neely expressed his belief in using the later option. “Yeah, we’re going to do the right thing,” said Neely. “Which is what we have to do, however you want to take that. We’re going to do the right thing. Depending on what we find out over the next few days.”
3.) Gary Bettman will likely punish the Bruins if they attempt LTIR shenanigans.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman was in Boston for the Bruins-Canucks game. (Perhaps he was feeling nostalgic for getting one of the loudest series of boos in recent memory.) When a member of the media inquired about skirting the rules, the commissioner was blunt in his response.
“Not only do we not encourage getting around the cap, we strictly enforce the cap,” said Bettman. “The rules are important because if nothing else they’re competitive, and everybody needs to be playing under the same set of rules “People are always going to look for edges, so we try to minimize those edges in the context of the competitiveness that it is. Listen, teams want to win. That’s why you’re in the game, you want to win. So that’s why we’re very focused on the enforcement of our rules, whether or not our playing rules or roster creation rules.”
It’s a pity he feels as strongly about this as he does about a hockey team in Arizona and no hockey teams for Quebec City.
So, we’ve got a player who doesn’t want to see this option used, a team president that is extremely wary about attempting this, and a commissioner with his finger on the “punish” button. (Let’s not forget the Bruins are still paying through the nose for the whole Jarome Iginla move.) Giving up Krejci for one (or two) short-term rentals is a bad idea. The Bruins have proven they can succeed without Krejci if they stick to their game plan. The sensible plan is to wait on Krejci and get him back healthy and ready for the post-season.