David Krejci returning to Bruins on one-year deal
BOSTON -- David Krejci is returning to the Bruins. After spending a year playing in his native Czech Republic, Krejci is returning to Boston and the NHL for the 2022-23 season.
The Bruins announced on Monday that Krejci is back with his old team on a one-year deal worth $1 million, with an additional $2 million that can be earned through incentives.
Krejci, 36, has played all 15 of his NHL seasons with the Bruins. He left the team after the 2020-21 season to return home and be closer to his family, and went on to score 20 goals and dish out 26 assists over 51 games for HC Olomouc.
Krejci had eight goals and 36 assists for the Bruins in 2020-21, and is just four seasons removed from putting up 73 points (20 goals, 53 assists) for Boston in 2018-19. He was drafted by the Bruins in the second round in 2004 and made his debut during the 2006-07 season, scoring 215 goals while handing out 515 assists over 962 regular-season games. In 156 playoff games, Krejci racked up 124 points (42 goals, 82 assists), winning a Stanley Cup with Boston in 2011.
Though Krejci left Boston in 2021, the speculation that he could return to the Bruins sparked when he returned stateside this summer. Now he'll likely be back to center Boston's second line, with David Pastrnak/Jake DeBrusk and Taylor Hall playing on his wings.
The return of Krejci marked the second big-ticket item of the day for the Bruins, who announced earlier in the morning that captain Patrice Bergeron re-signed with the team on a one-year deal.
