David Krejčí (, born 28 April 1986) is a Czech former professional ice hockey centre who played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League with the Boston Bruins. He was part of the Bruins' Stanley Cup win in 2011 and led the NHL in points during the 2011 and 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs. Internationally he played for the Czech national team at several tournaments, including the 2010, 2014, and 2022 Winter Olympics and four World Championships.
Early life David Krejčí was born on April 28, 1986, in Šternberk, a small town in the Moravia region of what was then Czechoslovakia and is now the Czech Republic. He is the son of Zdeněk and Renata Krejčí, and has an older brother, Zdeněk jr. His father was also a hockey player and later became a coach.
Playing career Krejčí started playing junior hockey with HC Olomouc U18 in the Czechia U18 league during the 2000–01 season, he scored 2 goals and 6 assists in 26 games. During the 2001–02 campaign, he was one of the leagues top scorers with 32 goals and 27 assists in 48 games. In 2002–03, he scored 46 points (16 goals and 30 assists) in 27 games while also debuting with Třinec's U20 squad, where he scored 9 points in 12 games.
Krejčí was drafted by the Boston Bruins in the third round, 63rd overall, of the 2004 NHL entry draft."David Krejci". hockeydb.com. Retrieved 10 February 2013. He was drafted out of Czech junior leagues, having played for HC Kladno. Following his selection, he moved to North America to play major junior hockey in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) for the Gatineau Olympiques for two seasons. In his two seasons in Gatineau, Krejčí played in 117 games recording 49 goals 144 points.
Professional
Boston Bruins (2006–2021) Krejčí turned professional in 2006–07, playing for the Bruins' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Providence Bruins. He played in his first NHL game on 30 January 2007 in a 7–1 loss against the Buffalo Sabres but suffered a concussion after being hit by Buffalo's Adam Mair during his third shift. He recorded just 2:07 minutes of ice time. Krejčí played increasingly with Boston the following season, appearing in 56 NHL games to go with 25 games for Providence. On 19 February 2008, Krejčí was involved in a shootout tie-breaker round in a Bruins road game against the Carolina Hurricanes and scored to help the Bruins take the shootout 2–1. Krejčí's shootout tally would not register as his first NHL goal, as shootout goals do not count towards a player's statistical totals. Krejčí scored his first official NHL goal one week later, on 26 February against Martin Gerber of the Ottawa Senators, the second Bruins' goal in a 4–0 home shutout. He finished his rookie NHL season with 6 goals and 27 points.
During the 2008–09 season, Krejčí scored his first NHL hat-trick on 18 December 2008 against the Toronto Maple Leafs. He registered his first two goals against starter Vesa Toskala and his third against Curtis Joseph in an 8–5 Bruins win. About the midpoint of that season, NESN's play-by-play TV announcer Jack Edwards for televised Bruins games gave Krejčí the nickname "The Matrix" due to his ability to slow down the pace of a game through his skating style and abilities on the ice. Before a game on 2 April 2009, Krejčí was named the winner of the Boston Bruins' 2009 Seventh Player Award. The award is given annually to the player who "goes beyond the call of duty and exceeds all expectations" throughout the course of the season. During the game, Krejčí assisted on a goal by Milan Lucic, the 2008 winner of the Seventh Player Award, in a 2–1 home ice victory over the Ottawa Senators. He completed his second NHL season with a then-career-high 73 points in 82 games to go with a league-high +37 plus-minus rating. On 2 June 2009, he signed a multi-year contract extension with the Bruins, reportedly a three-year contract paying an average of $3.75 million per year.
At the beginning of November 2009, Krejčí was noticeably ill; on 5 November 2009, it was confirmed that Krejčí had been diagnosed with the H1N1 virus, which sidelined him for some time.
On 5 May 2010, during the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs, Krejčí dislocated his wrist less than five minutes into a game when he was checked at the Bruins' blue line by Philadelphia Flyers' centre Mike Richards. Surgery was needed and was performed following the game at Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore, and Krejčí missed the remainder of the playoffs.
On 25 May 2011, in game six of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Krejčí recorded his second NHL career hat-trick. He was the first Bruin to record a playoff hat-trick since Cam Neely, two decades prior. On 15 June, Krejčí and the Bruins won the team's first Stanley Cup in 39 years after defeating the Vancouver Canucks 4–0 in game seven of the Final. Krejčí finished the 2011 playoffs with a playoff-leading 12 goals, 23 points and 4 game-winning goals.
On 1 March 2012, in a game against the New Jersey Devils, Krejčí scored his third career hat-trick, scoring in the first, third and overtime periods in a 4–3 win. In game four of the 2013 opening round playoffs against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Krejčí scored a hat-trick, including the game-winning goal in overtime. Krejčí would also lead the league again in points in the playoffs with 26, but his team fell short to the Chicago Blackhawks 4–2 in the Final.
On 1 October 2013, Krejčí was named an alternate captain of the Bruins. On 25 October 2013, he scored a game-winning goal with 0.8 seconds left against the San Jose Sharks and goaltender Antti Niemi.
On 3 September 2014, Krejčí signed a six-year contract extension with the Bruins. During a road game on 20 February 2015 against the St. Louis Blues, Krejčí suffered a partial tear of his MCL in his left knee, forcing him off the ice for 4–6 weeks for recovery.
During the Bruins' home game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on 8 December 2018, Krejčí became the tenth-highest scoring Bruins player of all-time (surpassing Cam Neely) when he recorded a goal and an assist in a 6–3 Bruins' win, bringing his points total to 592. Three days later, on 11 December, Krejčí played his 800th NHL game, recording three assists in a Bruins' 4–3 home win over the Arizona Coyotes. Just one week later, on 20 December, Krejčí recorded his 600th career NHL point after scoring the Bruins' third goal in a 4–1 home ice defeat of the Anaheim Ducks.
As of the end of the 2020–21 season, Krejčí's 42 playoff goals ranked him seventh on the Bruins' all-time list of postseason scorers. At that time, he was also ranked 16th in Boston history in regular-season goals scored (215), seventh in assists (515) and eighth in total points (730).
On 30 July 2021, Krejčí announced that he was leaving the NHL and intended to return to the Czech Republic to continue his career. The Bruins' general manager, Don Sweeney, indicated that the team would "keep the door open" for a return in the future if Krejčí decided to return.
HC Olomouc (2021–2022) In his return to his roots, Krejčí returned to his first club as a junior, agreeing to a one-year contract with Czech club HC Olomouc of the Czech Extraliga (ELH) on 2 August 2021. In the 2021–22 season, as an alternate captain with Olomouc, Krejčí led the team in scoring, notching 20 goals and 46 points through 51 regular season games. He added 5 points through 5 post-season games in a qualifying round defeat to HC Vítkovice Ridera.
Return to Boston and retirement (2022–2023) After concluding his one-year contract with Olomouc, Krejčí opted to return for a 16th season with the Bruins, agreeing to a bonus laden one-year, $1 million contract on 8 August 2022. He played his 1,000th NHL game on 16 January 2023 at TD Garden against the Philadelphia Flyers, dishing out three assists in a 6–0 victory.
On 14 August 2023, Krejčí retired from the NHL after 18 seasons. However, he later clarified he had not retired from hockey overall, due to interest in playing for the Czech national team at the Czech-hosted 2024 IIHF World Championship, as well as a potential short-term return to a European professional league.
On 1 December 2023, Krejčí retired from hockey entirely due to persistent health problems.
International play
After the Bruins' 2007–08 season ended, Krejčí was named to the Czech national team on 26 April 2008, for the 2008 IIHF World Championships. He was named to the Czech national team for the 2010 Winter Olympics, playing centre on a line with wingers Tomáš Fleischmann and Martin Erat to open the Games.
Following the Bruins' defeat to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the second round of the 2018 playoffs, Krejčí was invited to participate at the 2018 IIHF World Championship.
Krejci was named an assistant captain for the Czech national team for the 2022 Winter Olympics. Unfortunately, the Olympics would bring the worst result ever for the Czechs, as they finished 9th. However, Krejci and the Czechs would get redemption at the international level later that year, capturing his second bronze at the 2022 IIHF World Championships, once again serving as an assistant captain.
Personal life Krejčí married his wife, Naomi Starr, in 2014. They have two children together: Elina and Everett.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs Bold indicates led league Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2002–03 HC Vagnerplast Kladno CZE U18 22 12 24 36 42 — — — — — 2002–03 HC Vagnerplast Kladno CZE U20 12 4 5 9 2 12 5 5 10 8 2003–04 HC Rabat Kladno CZE U20 50 23 37 60 37 7 3 6 9 4 2004–05 Gatineau Olympiques QMJHL 62 22 41 63 31 10 2 7 9 10 2005–06 Gatineau Olympiques QMJHL 55 27 54 81 54 17 10 22 32 24 2006–07 Providence Bruins AHL 69 31 43 74 47 13 3 13 16 22 2006–07 Boston Bruins NHL 6 0 0 0 2 — — — — — 2007–08 Providence Bruins AHL 25 7 21 28 19 — — — — — 2007–08 Boston Bruins NHL 56 6 21 27 20 7 1 4 5 2 2008–09 Boston Bruins NHL 82 22 51 73 26 11 2 6 8 2 2009–10 Boston Bruins NHL 79 17 35 52 26 9 4 4 8 2 2010–11 Boston Bruins NHL 75 13 49 62 28 25 12 11 23 10 2011–12 Boston Bruins NHL 79 23 39 62 36 7 1 2 3 4 2012–13 HC ČSOB Pojišťovna Pardubice ELH 24 16 11 27 22 — — — — — 2012–13 Boston Bruins NHL 47 10 23 33 20 22 9 17 26 8 2013–14 Boston Bruins NHL 80 19 50 69 28 12 0 4 4 4 2014–15 Boston Bruins NHL 47 7 24 31 22 — — — — — 2015–16 Boston Bruins NHL 72 17 46 63 32 — — — — — 2016–17 Boston Bruins NHL 82 23 31 54 26 3 0 0 0 0 2017–18 Boston Bruins NHL 64 17 27 44 18 12 3 7 10 6 2018–19 Boston Bruins NHL 81 20 53 73 16 24 4 12 16 8 2019–20 Boston Bruins NHL 61 13 30 43 23 13 4 8 12 6 2020–21 Boston Bruins NHL 51 8 36 44 16 11 2 7 9 2 2021–22 HC Olomouc ELH 51 20 26 46 24 5 3 2 5 4 2022–23 Boston Bruins NHL 70 16 40 56 20 4 1 3 4 0NHL totals 1,032 231 555 786 359 160 43 85 128 60ELH totals 75 36 37 73 46 5 3 2 5 4
International Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM 2003 Czech Republic U18 5 — — — — 2004 Czech Republic WJC18 7 3 4 7 0 2005 Czech Republic WJC 7 0 1 1 2 2006 Czech Republic WJC 6 3 3 6 4 2008 Czech Republic WC 5 0 0 0 2 2010 Czech Republic OG 5 2 1 3 6 2012 Czech Republic WC 10 3 4 7 4 2014 Czech Republic OG 5 1 2 3 0 2018 Czech Republic WC 5 1 5 6 0 2022 Czech Republic OG 4 1 3 4 0 2022 Czech Republic WC 10 3 9 12 4Junior totals 20 6 8 14 6Senior totals 44 11 24 35 16
Awards and honours
Award Year Czech Republic Golden Hockey Stick 2013 NHL Stanley Cup champion 2011 InternationalIIHF World Championship Top 3 Player on Team2022Boston Bruins Seventh Player Award 2009 Bruins Three Stars Awards 2010, 2014, 2016 Elizabeth C. Dufresne Trophy 2014 Named One of Top 100 Best Bruins Players of all Time2024Boston Bruins All-Centennial Team2024
References
External links