It’s an imaginary scenario at this stage of the NHL season, but one so tangible I can already hear the echoing bells of my Twitter app ringing in my ears.
It’s early November. The 2021-22 Bruins season is a ripe age of … three or so weeks old. And as expected, the handoff between David Krejci and Charlie Coyle as Boston’s new second-line pivot isn’t exactly a seamless transition.
Granted, even with a clean bill of health after offseason knee procedures and more promising signs that a bounce-back year is in the cards for Coyle, the Weymouth native is still being handed the unenviable task of replacing a franchise legend down the middle in Krejci — whose quiet, steady production for years sure doesn’t seem to be getting taken for granted now that he’s heading overseas.
But if that revamped second line’s chemistry doesn’t spark right from the jump and there’s a dry spell or two in the early going — I already know what most of the postgame discourse will be on the airwaves and across the Twittersphere.
“46?”
“Connor, any chance Krejci is back?”
“We could use Krejci right now.”
I know it’s coming, you know it’s coming — and given the stakes involved with this Bruins team sandwiched in a win-now window, it’s frankly expected for such a sentiment to spread like wildfire among the B’s faithful, especially if Krejci is still suiting up and playing at a high level, albeit back home in his native Czech Republic.
But could the Bruins themselves be holding a similar sentiment when it comes to holding out hope for Krejci’s eventual return at some point before he hangs up his skates for good?
It sure seems like Don Sweeney and Co. are keeping the door open if the longtime pivot wants to make another return to Boston and close out his pro career back in the NHL ranks.
“Ultimately, with David making a decision, we’re wondering whether or not he might return at some point in time,” Sweeney said on Friday at Warrior Ice Arena. “But that’s open-ended. … We’ll see if somewhere down the road, David Krejci opens the door back up. But again, that’s his own family decision, and there’s no timeline there. We did have a heads up on that while we were in the process of trying to fill in from a depth perspective in free agency.”
BSJ Analysis:
Now, as tempting as it is to imagine a scenario in which Krejci makes a triumphant return to the Garden ice in a “45” sweater a la Jordan in ‘95, one thing needs to be established IF Krejci ever does return to Boston in a playing role.
If he really wants to get back to Boston, it likely isn’t going to be this season — not with some of the hurdles in the way.
Of course, one of the first snags facing a reunion this season is simple scheduling.
Perhaps Krejci just wants to spend one season with HC Olomouc and then go back to the NHL? Well, if he wants to play for Boston this postseason, he’d likely have to leave Olomouc before the Czech Extraliga season ends (generally between March and April) — as a player needs to sign with an NHL team before the trade deadline in order to be playoff eligible.
And even if such a situation presents itself in which Krejci does abruptly pack up his bags and returns to Boston in mid-February, it’s not as cut-and-dry as signing a new contract, passing a physical and reclaiming his top-six spot in short order.
He’d also need to pass through waivers, which could get pretty complicated.
In the event a professional or former professional Player plays in a league outside North America after the start of the NHL Regular Season, other than on Loan from his Club, he may thereafter play in the NHL during that Playing Season (including Playoffs) only if he has first either cleared or been obtained via Waivers. For the balance of the Playing Season, any such Player who has been obtained via Waivers may be Traded or Loaned only after again clearing Waivers or through Waiver claim. This section shall not apply to a Player on the Reserve List or Restricted Free Agent List of an NHL Club with whom the Player is signing an NHL SPC or is party to an existing SPC with such NHL Club.
So essentially, if Krejci is playing with HC Olomouc in October (as expected), he’d need to navigate the waiver wire before returning back to Boston. In doing so, both Krejci and the Bruins run the risk of another team claiming Krejci — either in hopes of adding him to their roster or simply to put the screws to Boston.
Of course, Krejci could pull a move out of Jason Spezza’s book and opt to retire if anyone other than the team he wants to play for (Toronto, in Spezza’s case) claimed him on waivers. That type of hardball is an effective option, but still, the waiver wire is an unpredictable minefield to traverse, especially if Krejci were to serve as a late-season savior this winter/spring.
Rather, the most likely scenario involving Krejci donning a black-and-gold sweater once again likely involves Krejci finishing out his one year with HC Olomouc, hitting free agency again and then signing with Boston without any waiver restrictions or headache-inducing hurdles.
It sure doesn’t have the type of storybook-ending conclusion that most of us would like — in which Krejci returns just in time for a playoff push in 2022 — but for now, it sure seems like the current plan in place will feature a rotating door down the middle with a host of internal candidates in play.
“We certainly brought in more depth in that position to create competition," Sweeney said. "Bruce (Cassidy) indicated that Charlie (Coyle) would likely get that opportunity and we're excited because he's healthy and coming off of knee surgery where he just didn't have the same level of jump and acceleration for the entire season last year,. Went through the procedure this year, his knee is back healthy, and he'll be ready to go. Hopefully we see an energized Charlie Coyle and really the excitement level of playing with Taylor (Hall) and (Craig) Smith in all likelihood, starting there.
"But could be other players, whether it's Nick (Foligno) or a younger player that surprises us. Ultimately, I've said it before, we'll likely have to do it by committee to some degree. It's not ideal.”
Ideal? No. Appealing. Not exactly. Realistic? Most certainly.