David Krejci has spent his entire 15-year NHL career with the Bruins, but now at age 35, he is set to hit unrestricted free agency for the first time.
Krejci clearly still has some game left, as evidenced by his 44 points in 51 regular-season games this year and nine points in 11 playoff games.
With no obvious internal options to replace Krejci as the No. 2 center -- Charlie Coyle struggled on the third line this season and Jack Studnicka hasn't been able to stick at the NHL level yet -- it would seem to make quite a bit of sense for the Bruins to bring Krejci back on some sort of shorter-term deal if he wants to keep playing for Boston.
Krejci addressed his future and pending free agency on Friday when he met with the media via Zoom as part of the Bruins' "breakup day," saying he hasn't made any decisions about his future yet.
"Obviously I’ve thought about it a lot, not just the last couple days, but the whole season pretty much," Krejci said. "But yeah, I’m not going to give you an answer right now. I’m gonna need a few weeks to think about lots of things, talk to lots of people. I love Boston. See what happens."
Krejci said he can't see himself playing for another team at this point in his career.
"I love Boston. This is my home," he said. "I just don’t see myself playing anywhere else. We’ll see what happens."
Krejci has said in the past that he would like to finish his career in his native Czech Republic when the time comes. He said on Friday that's still the case -- in part because he'd like his kids to live there and learn the language since their grandparents (Krejci's parents) don't speak any English -- but that he doesn't know when that might actually happen.
Krejci, who had been the Bruins' highest-paid player for each of the last six years with a $7.25 million cap hit, also said his next contract won't be all about money.
"It’s not about money," he said. "I guess that’s all I can tell you. My next deal is not going to be based on money."
That echoed a similar sentiment expressed earlier in the day by linemate Taylor Hall, who said he wants to stay in Boston and was "not looking to absolutely maximize my value at this point in my career." Hall is also an unrestricted free agent.
Krejci's production skyrocketed after Hall was added to his line along with Craig Smith. From April 12 on, Krejci had 21 points over the final 16 regular-season games, and the three of them combined to outscore opponents 13-1 at five-on-five during that time.
Krejci said he had "lots of fun" playing with Hall and Smith and that the three really clicked not just on the ice, but off it as well.
"Obviously when we did that trade and I got put together with Hallsy and Smitty, it was amazing," Krejci said. "It wasn’t just on the ice. They’re such good guys, too. Smitty is the nicest person ever. I didn’t know Hallsy at all before. He surprised me. Obviously you know what kind of player he is, but he surprised me as a person.
"We would hang out a lot. We got really close, became really good friends. That kind of carries out on the ice as well. If you get good chemistry away from the game, then you come in the game and sometimes you don’t even have to say anything. You just know how that person feels. It was great. I love playing with those guys, I love hanging out with those guys. I had lots of fun the last couple months for sure."
Smith, who is under contract for two more years, said something similar on Friday, adding that he hopes both Krejci and Hall will be back.
"We had a great run there and I had a lot of fun playing with those guys," Smith said. "On and off the ice, I think they’re just tremendous people. Two of my favorite teammates I’ve had over the course of the last decade. I hope they come back. Those types of things are out of my hands, but moving forward it would be nice to see them again."
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