This might go down as one of the worst offseason in NHL history. With David Krejci officially retiring from the NHL, the Boston Bruins disastrous offseason is now fully completed as they have completely lost their Top-6 drivers of offense.
The Bruins better have another 65-win season or else Don Sweeney and Cam Nealy are getting fired!
The Bruins have lost nearly all of their important offensive players of their record-breaking 65-win regular season this past offseason, and the retirement of David Krejci today ensures that Boston also now has no Top-6 centers for the upcoming season. And, to be honest, I’ve HAD IT with Don Sweeney and Cam Neely.
Okay, just to start this article in a respectful manner to David Krejci, let me thank Krejci for not only being one of the best centers we’ve seen in the last decade, but also being one of the most consistent Bruins forwards of all-time. In his 15 years as an NHL center (2006-21, 2022-23), Krejci posted 231 goals (58th most among active players), 555 assists (16th most among active players), and 786 points (25th among active players) in 1,032 games (34th most among active players) all for the Boston Bruins.
And, even though he may not have been one of the Top-10 centers in the league or one of the most gifted players in the NHL throughout his career, he was always one of the most consistent and competitive players that saw him score at least 30 points in his last 14 seasons, at least 40 points in 12 of his 15 years (80%), at least 50 points in 8 of his 15 seasons (53%), and at least 60 points on 6 of his 15 seasons (40%) to help the Bruins win 3 President’s Trophies (2014, 2020, 2023), set an NHL record for most wins (65) and points (135) in a season in 2022-23, reach 3 Stanley Cup Finals (2011, 2013, 2019), and win the 2011 Stanley Cup (6th in Bruins history).
Again, these aren’t Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Anze Kopitar, Steven Stamkos, or Patrice Bergeron level stats, but they are extremely consistent and helped the Bruins reach phenomenal heights over these last 15 years. So, from the bottom of my Bruins-loving heart, I thank you very much, David Krejci, for being such a consummate, fantastic professional and for helping the Bruins win the 2011 Stanley Cup.
Now, back to the Bruins offseason, this really go down as one of the worst ever in NHL history.
This has now OFFICIALLY LOST David Krejci (53 points in 2022-23), Patrice Bergeron (58 points in 2022-23), Tyler Bertuzzi (30 points in 2022-23), Taylor Hall (36 points in 2022-23), Connor Clifton (23 points in 2022-23), Garnett Hathaway (26 points in 2022-23), Dmitry Orlov (36 points in 2022-23), Nick Foligno (26 points in 2022-23), Mike Rielly (1 point in 2022-23), Tomas Nosek (18 points in 2022-23), and Craig Smith (10 points in 2022-23 for Boston).
That’s 317 points worth of offensive players lost IN A SINGLE OFFSEASON! And, to make matters worse, the Bruins not only refused to sign any of the major offensive free agents (like Matt Duchene or Ryan O’ Rielly), but they also only signed Milan Lucic (19 points in 2022-23), Kevin Shattenkirk (27 points in 2022-23), James Van Riemsdyk (29 points in 2022-23), Morgan Geekie (28 points in 2022-23), and Patrick Brown (12 points in 2022-23) as replacements.
THAT’S A DROPOFF OF 202 POINTS!!!
As of this moment, the Bruins starting Top-6 is Brad Marchand-Pavel Zacha-David Pastrňák (Top-3) and James Van Riemsdyk-Charlie Coyle-Jake DeBrusk. That’s very poor.
Aside from David Pastrňák , who’s one of the Top-5 best players in the world right now, the Bruins Top-6 consists entirely of players who are either coming off down seasons due to injuries and age (Brad Marchand, James Van Riemsdyk), players who are extremely suspect for form and consistency (Jake DeBrusk), and players who have failed to live up to Top-6 expectations in the past (Charlie Coyle, Pavel Zacha).
I’m not saying the Bruins are going to outright miss the playoffs next year (though, I am leaning towards that opinion) as they still have their goaltending and defensive core (mostly), but they’re going to REALLY struggle to score goals next season outside of Pastrňák and Marchand…which is kind of what happened to the Penguins and Capitals this past season.
And I wonder how their, respective, seasons last year went?
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