Boston Bruins: David Krejci reunion is last thing the team needs right now
By Ryan Whitley
Ever since the Boston Bruins canned Bruce Cassidy and convinced Patrice Bergeron to stick around, B’s fans and media have been floating the idea of a David Krejci return to Boston.
And although getting the gang back together for one last run would be a nice throwback, it’s the last thing the Bruins should be looking for this offseason.
David Krejci will not bring the Boston Bruins to championship glory
Maybe his year playing in the Czech Republic brought Krejci to the fountain of youth. More likely, however, Bruins fans would quickly realize that the AHL-level competition of the Czech league did nothing to prevent the always slow Krejci from falling even further behind today’s rocket fueled NHL.
The news that Bergeron was returning for another season has given a lot of B’s fans false hope. Hope that running it back with a group that was far from winning anything last year, with a coaching change as the only real difference, will lead to an actual title run this year. I just don’t see how it’s possible.
A month ago, I maybe could have believed. I could have bought into the B’s hot streak in the second half and said, “Hey, maybe they get hot again at the right time and make a run.” But not after watching the Stanley Cup Finals. Not after seeing the Colorado Avalanche playing hockey not only on a different planet from the Bruins, but in a whole different universe of skill and speed.
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Boston Bruins need to focus on future, not past
Whether the Bruins front office will accept it or not, the time has come for the B’s to take a step back and actually try to build for the future. Bringing David Krejci back does not do that, at all. Yes, the team may be slightly better this upcoming season. But not good enough to win a title, which would be the only reason to advocate for him returning.
Every year with that group was the same story: elite regular seasons only to crumble in the playoffs, unless their goaltender went on a legitimately historic hot streak. And even when that did happen in 2019, they still found a way to lose to the St. Louis Blues in the Stanley Cup Finals.
It’s beyond time to accept the reality that the old group just was never good enough when it mattered, and reliving those days will only bring us more pain in next year’s playoffs. Unless the Bruins want that to be the story of the next generation, they need to start looking towards it now.
Looking towards it by moving on from Don Sweeney and his terrible drafting (although that’s another story entirely). Preparing for it by seeing what some of the organization’s young centers can do with consistent playing time, rather than a 36-year-old who plays at a snails pace. Taking the jump by possibly giving up the home playoff games that the Jacobs family so dearly loves.
Next. Boston Bruins offseason off to the worst start possible. dark
Bringing back a franchise icon in Bergeron for his farewell tour is one thing. For everything he’s given this organization, he deserves that, on top of the fact that he is still an elite player. But David Krejci said his goodbye when he left to play in his home country, and the Boston Bruins would do well to leave it at that.