David Krejci's team in the Czech Republic, HC Olomouc, was eliminated from the Extraliga playoffs on Thursday in Game 5 of their best-of-five first-round series.
That could be important. If Krejci were going to return to the NHL and be eligible to play in the Stanley Cup playoffs, he would need to be signed before Monday's 3 p.m. trade deadline.
That much of the equation is at least now possible. Had Olomouc won Thursday, their second-round series would have run past Monday and returning to the NHL would have been out of the question.
Does Krejci even want to return, though? Well, he was asked about that during his postgame press conference. The question and answer were both in Czech, of course, so the best we can do is run his answer through Google Translate and hope the translation is accurate enough to capture the spirit of the thing.
"I enjoyed the season in the Czech Republic, it was great, although a sad ending," Krejci said. "NHL? I didn't talk to anyone, I focused on the playoffs. I don't know what will happen if I continue to play. We'll go somewhere with the boys, I'll take care of the family, we'll see what time brings."
That doesn't sound like someone who's in a rush to hop on a plane and head back to North America, but it's worth noting that Krejci does have a few days to think about it now.
If he does decide he wants to play in the NHL this season, the next big question, of course, is: Will the Bruins be able to sign him?
Because Krejci played so many games overseas, he is not free to simply sign with whatever team he wants. He would need to go through waivers, meaning any team could claim him. Even if he says beforehand that he'll only sign with the Bruins, another team could still claim him simply to block the Bruins from adding a second-line center for the stretch run and the playoffs.
While the NHL can be an "unwritten rules," "gentleman's agreement"-type league sometimes, you would think other playoff teams might be a little more cutthroat this late in the season as they chase a Stanley Cup.
It's also worth noting that the Bruins cannot strike a deal with a non-playoff team above them in the waiver order (which is the reverse order of the league standings) to have that team claim Krejci and then trade him to Boston. The league has already addressed that loophole, and Krejci would have to clear waivers again in order to be traded.
The Bruins also may not have the luxury of waiting too long for a Krejci prayer to be answered. As they explore other ways to add to their team via trades, they won't want to risk losing out on a priority target by dragging their feet.
In summary, from a strictly schedule and timing perspective, a Krejci return could now be possible. But the Bruins and their fans still shouldn't get their hopes up.
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