After a season spent back in Czechia, David Krejci isn’t doubting his ability to anchor Bruins’ top-6 unit

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

It’s a cliched phrase that often doesn’t ring true when it comes to sports, given the variance that often comes due to injuries, inconsistent play and the inevitable erosion of talent brought upon by Father Time.

Of course, there are exceptions in which such sentiment is proven true — be it the age-defying superstars who continue to keep their club’s contention window ajar, or the athletes whose skillset can often age gracefully over the span of multiple seasons. 

David Krejci is perhaps more of the latter — a vital and esteemed figure within the Bruins organization, even if his lofty resume likely won’t stamp his spot up in Toronto in the coming years. But when it comes to the Czech pivot’s skillset out on the ice, there isn’t a whole lot that has been sapped away from his strengths as a top-six talent. 

Perhaps that’s why, even though Monday marked his first time on the frozen sheet at Warrior Ice Arena in 15 months, Krejci looked like he hasn’t skipped a beat following his return to Boston’s lineup following a one-year sojourn back to his native Czechia. 

“I always put high expectations on myself,” Krejci said of his goals for the upcoming 2022-23 campaign. “This year is no different. I worked really hard this summer. I probably had the longest summer I’ve had in a long time. I’ve been skating quite a bit as well. I feel good now. We’ll see how it goes.”

Monday might have marked the final informal captains’ practice for the Bruins before camp begins in earnest later this week, but Krejci still was as advertised during the various scrimmages with his teammates — routinely slowing down the pace of play in the offensive zone before lofting pucks into Grade-A ice for his linemates.

For as much as some have downplayed Krejci’s potential impact on this Bruins club given both his age (36) and the decreased level of competition that he feasted on last year in Europe (46 points in 51 games with HC Olomouc), the B’s center doesn’t believe his game has declined all that much — especially once he was played with NHL talent once again during the 2022 World Championships (12 points in 10 games).

“I think that’s your job to maybe (decide),” Krejci said when asked where his game is at after a year removed from NHL play. “I don’t know if you saw some games or not. I feel good. Feel in good shape. Played some good hockey a lot last year with our team. So that was great. 

"But that’s up to you guys to judge. We’ll see how it goes. … I felt like I was one of the better players in the tournament or the whole season last year and then in the World Championship as well. So that was kind of a reminder that I still have it.”

Of course, even if Krejci’s poise with the puck and playmaking vision was to slightly dip from the proficiency he achieved in his mid-20s, the fact of the matter is that the supporting cast around him is expected to bolster his numbers.

 After years of being asked to drive play with a carousel of wingers to his left and right, Krejci is expected to have a pair of jet engines on his line in Taylor Hall and David Pastrnak — two all-world talents capable of both pushing the puck into the O-zone and rifling saucer feeds into twine with regularity. 

“That would be honestly awesome,” Krejci said of playing with Pastrnak and Hall. “They're two of the best players in the league. And if I get a chance to play with them, or at least one of them, then that'll be great. We'll try to obviously talk a lot. But I played with both of them. The chemistry shouldn't be a problem, just kind of get up to speed and talk a lot in the room, on the ice."

Given the absurd numbers that Krejci and Hall generated together in 2021 (Boston outscored teams, 14-1, in their 193:13 of 5v5 ice time), it was pretty much a given that Jim Montgomery was going to keep that duo together when the time came to sort out the B’s top-six grouping. 

But the chance to log significant reps with his fellow countryman in Pastrnak stood as one of the most tempting pitches to Krejci when it came to returning to Boston — even if those two haven’t exactly played for significant stretches together in the NHL ranks. 

Not like those lack of reps are going to concern Krejci, of course. 

“He's that kind of guy that I don't have to play with him that much in the past,” Krejci said of building chemistry with Pastrnak. “I haven't played with him the whole last year and then he came to Worlds after the guys lost in the first round and it seemed like I played with him the whole season. We have good chemistry and we don't need to practice much together. Just go out there and do our thing.”

For all of the cathartic optics that come with Krejci returning to Boston and skating alongside Patrice Bergeron once more, the Bruins aren’t looking for just a nostalgic farewell tour this season when it comes to Krejci. 

A potent Hall-Krejci-Pastrnak line has the tools and talent in place to scythe through even the stoutest opposing defenses — an offensive trump card that the Bruins might need to rely on in the early going while Brad Marchand rehabs from offseason surgery. 

Krejci might be reaching the final chapters of his lengthy pro career, but both player and team believe that he still has quite a bit left to offer — potentially even beyond this season.

"The older you get — last year or even the year before when I was here on the last year of my deal — you just kind of play it out, see how you feel,” Krejci said of his future following the 2022-23 season. “See if people still want you or not. But that's maybe the beauty of it, Because you don't know what's going to happen next year, so you try to take the most out of the opportunity you have in front of you and whatever happens after it happens. 

“It's out of your hands. You're just focusing on having a really good year, try to have fun as well. Because I did miss it when I was in Europe.”

OTHER NOTES:

Sweeney mum on Pastrnak talks 

For all of the good tidings that came out of Pastrnak’s relatively nonchalant musings in regards to ongoing negotiations about a new contract — the fact of the matter is that Pastrnak, his representatives and the Bruins still have a lengthy process ahead of them when it comes to bridging the gap on a lucrative new deal. 

And in speaking with Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe up at the 2022 Prospects Challenge in Buffalo, Don Sweeney once again offered a reminder that no deal is necessarily imminent. 

“There’s never been a timetable,” Sweeney told Dupont. “I know other people have tried to sort of put one on there, but that’s just not how it works. … “I’ll admit, you’d always like to have things buttoned up before you worry about entering the last year (of a deal). But sometimes it’s just a little bit more of an organic process — we’ll continue to work on it.”

McAvoy, Marchand skate ahead of practice    

With Krejci’s arrival on Monday, every NHL regular is accounted at Warrior for the Bruins ahead of Thursday’s first “official” on-ice practice at training camp. Of course, the Bruins will still be missing three lineup stalwarts in Marchand, Charlie McAvoy and Matt Grzelcyk for at least the first month of the season, if not longer when it comes to Marchand and McAvoy.

But Monday stood as another step in the right direction for Boston’s banged-up skaters, as both McAvoy and Marchand were out on the ice skating ahead of practice. Grzelcyk was also present, and given the fact that he had gear on, likely could have been skating earlier in the morning. 

Granted, the sight of these three getting conditioning work in shouldn’t signal that they are now ahead of schedule with their respective recovery timetables — but it’s still a welcoming sign that they are on the road back to game action.