Boston Bruins: What to expect from David Krejci in 2021
How well should we expect Boston Bruins’ center David Krejci to do in 2021?
2021 will be David Krejci‘s 15th season with the Boston Bruins, and like every other season, we should expect exceptional playmaking and a good amount of goals scored by the second line center.
From season to season, Krejci has been one of the B’s most consistent players. Since his debut season in 2006-07 where he only played six games, Krejci has not had a points per game lower than 0.66, and has had a season where his points per game was as high as 0.90.
Last season, Krejci produced like he normally would. He registered 13 goals and 30 assists for 43 points in 61 games. These paces come out to 0.21 goals per game, 0.49 assists per game, and 0.70 points per game.
In 2021, I expect Krejci to be slightly better. This is because his line will finally have a consistent right wing in either Ondrej Kase or Craig Smith. Additionally, I think left wing Jake DeBrusk will have a bounce-back season, which will also help out Krejci’s production.
So, I don’t really expect Krejci’s goals per game to go up much, but more his assists per game. With DeBrusk back to his 2018-19 form and having another 20-goal scorer on his right in Smith, Krejci should see an increase in his assist pace.
This being said, I think Krejci will have a 0.23 goals per game and 0.55 assists per game for 0.78 points per game. If Krejci doesn’t miss a game and suits up for all 56 in 2021 this would equal 13 goals and 31 assists for 44 points.
This may be a bit too much for Krejci, but again, I’m expecting DeBrusk and Kase to be much better than they were last season and think Smith will have a big impact on the team, especially if he’s on the second line with Krejci and DeBrusk.