Last week, Bruins general manager Don Sweeney left the door open to a possible David Krejci return at some points, saying, "We'll see if somewhere down the road, David Krejci opens the door back up."
Now coach Bruce Cassidy is doing the same. In an interview with TSN 1200 in Ottawa, Cassidy discussed Krejci's departure and the possibility of a return, saying that Krejci himself hasn't closed the door on playing for the Bruins again.
"He did not close the door on returning back," Cassidy said. "I don't know if that'll happen or when it'll happen at all, but he didn't say, 'I'm retiring and done from the National Hockey League.' So that's good news for us in the sense that maybe in a couple of months, he'll feel satisfied with what he needed to do. Or maybe not, right?"
It's worth noting, though, that Krejci returning to the Bruins wouldn't be as simple as him just deciding at some point later in the season that he wants to come back, the Bruins sign him, and everyone lives happily ever after.
Krejci would have to clear waivers in order to return, although Cassidy said he believes that only goes into effect after a certain date.
"I think you're subject to waivers after a certain date," Cassidy said. "I'm going to throw out December 15. It's around there somewhere once you play games. … David, once he starts playing, yeah there is waivers after mid-December."
That is a slightly better situation than Krejci being subject to waivers as soon as he plays one game abroad. In theory, Krejci could play for a few months in the Czech Republic (the Extraliga season starts in September) and then re-sign with the Bruins in early December without having to clear waivers.
Things get tougher if Krejci is committed to HC Olomouc for the full season, though. The Czech regular season ends in early March, with the postseason extending into April.
In order to be eligible for the NHL postseason, Krejci would need to be signed before the trade deadline, which is expected to be sometime mid- to late March. Obviously that creates a bit of a time crunch, especially if Olomouc makes the playoffs.
And again, if Krejci waits that long, he would then need to clear waivers. While he can certainly make it clear to other NHL teams that he won't play for anyone other than the Bruins, a rival team ahead of Boston in the waiver order could still put in a claim anyways just to block him from dropping to the Bruins.
The hope for Krejci and the Bruins would be that other general managers would respect Krejci's wishes and let him pass through. While that seems unlikely, the NHL can sometimes be a bit weird with its unwritten rules and gentleman's agreements and not ruthlessly screwing over other teams (i.e.
how infrequently teams actually offer-sheet restricted free agents). So never say never.
Until then, Cassidy and the Bruins are going to prepare for a season in which they at least know they're not going to have Krejci to start the year.
"We're going to go about our business," Cassidy told TSN. "Donny signed some good free agents, we added some depth. We have a good young player in [Jack] Studnicka. Charlie Coyle could move up. We'll see how we can fill that hole and see where David is at later in the season."
