The departure of David Krejci left a big hole in the Bruins' lineup and plenty of questions about whether the center would return to Boston after his season in Czech Republic came to an end.
Krejci served an important role for Boston during his 15 seasons with the club. His absence certainly was noticeable throughout the 2021-22 NHL season, but the Bruins had other glaring issues.
Questions and speculation about a potential return of Krejci have been swirling since he made the announcement that he was returning to his native Czech to play hockey overseas. But many held on to the fact that Krejci never used the word "retire" in his announcement nor did he file retirement papers with the NHL.
General manager Don Sweeney held his end-of-the-year media availability at Warrior Ice Arena on Wednesday and, naturally, was asked if he has had any conversations with Krejci about returning to the Black and Gold for the 2022-23 season.
"Not recently. David Pastrnak, along with Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark have all traveled over to the World Championships," Sweeney said. "... Knowing how they are I'm sure there will be a conversation, maybe it filters back to me. I certainly kept in touch with David and his camp throughout the year. He had hard decisions to make in terms of the promise he had made to his family. He ultimately decided to stay and see it through."
Krejci enjoyed success in his first year with HC Olomouc and now is playing for Team Czechia in the IIHF World Championships. It's unclear what exactly the future holds for Krejci, but Sweeney essentially kept the door open for the 36-year-old.
"I'm sure at some point and time if he decides he wants to return then hopefully I get a call and we can have a conversation," Sweeney said. "But I have not gone down that path for several months.
"It has to line up for a number of reasons. It still looks like he values playing the game and being highly competitive. ... was very productive. (He'd) seamlessly would probably fall back into knowing what our team is like, what we're trying to accomplish. But it's hypothetical for me at this point and I'll cross the bridge when it's presented."
While Krejci without a doubt would fill the void at second line center -- the position he left behind -- there still is a lot of work to be done if the Bruins want to be a legitimate Stanley Cup contender.
