Bruins and important veteran skater reportedly nearing new deal

The Boston Bruins have made some interesting decisions over the past week. They extended trade deadline acquisition left wing Taylor Hall, left defenseman Jeremy Lauzon exposed in the expansion draft to be taken by the Seattle Kraken, and drafted Swedish right wing Fabian Lysell in the first round of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft.

Yesterday, we also learned that B’s general manager Don Sweeney had changed his mind on restricted free agent (RFA) wingers Nick Ritchie and Ondrej Kase as he decided to not tender their qualifying offers and let them become unrestricted free agents (UFA).

One thing that has been basically unknown and barely talked about, however, is the status and decision of, veteran center and soon-to-be UFA, David Krejci‘s future. The last we heard, Krejci and the B’s had been in minimal contact and Krejci had yet to tell Boston his intentions for next season.

But today, Tuesday, July 27, it was reported by Kirk Luedeke of New England Hockey Journal and New York Hockey Journal, that the Black and Gold and David Krejci are finalizing a deal. The length and value of the deal have not been reported… yet.

David Krejci is a very important piece to the Bruins’ success.

Drafted by the B’s in the second round of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, Krejci has been a vital part of the team’s success over the last decade. Mostly playing as the team’s second-line center behind Patrice Bergeron, Krejci has given Boston a true 1B option at center when either Bergeron hasn’t been able to play or just hasn’t been at his best.

However, Krejci is significantly undervalued by several Bruins fans as he just isn’t a goal scorer. To add on to this, Sweeney has neglected to get Krejci a true goal-scoring wing throughout his tenure as GM.

This changed in 2020-21 as Sweeney was able to bring in both Hall and Craig Smith. With Hall and Smith on his wings (most because of Hall), Krejci was able to show what he can do with wingers that could actual score, skate, and create plays on their own.

With Hall already re-signed, Smith signed for the next two seasons, and Krejci reportedly re-signing soon, the B’s will once again have true 1A and 1B forward lines. Just like they did after this past season’s trade deadline.