Former Bruins Thank You, David Krejci: Returning To Czech Republic

[chizzler]

I can't find the article now but does anyone else recall Krejci's comments on his contract situation? IIRC they were similar to Krug's, they let him go into the final year of his deal, never approached him about an extension like they had in the past, implying that they weren't bringing him back, something like that.

I remember on Krug but Krejci not so much. Krug actually came out and said there was no communication.

 

[LouJersey]

So do Hall and Krejci.... worked pretty good.

 

[LouJersey]

This seems like a stretch.

It has to be a joke. Taylor Hall loves carrying the puck. How did they look together last season?

 

[Alicat]

So do Hall and Krejci.... worked pretty good.

I have no friggin clue to be honest. Just posting it because that reason has been given before not only by Cassidy but Claude too

 

[LouJersey]

if this shit was going on and Sweeney wasn't aware of it then he's completely incompetent. He builds the team and is closer to it than anyone short of the coach. Hell, these are criticisms people on this message board have been throwing out there for years and most of us are complete outsiders. It's utter nonsense to suggest Sweeney wasn't aware of these particular team dynamics & issues, and if he wasn't then he needs to go immediately.

IMO there is no chance any GM knows every conversation that happens between player and coach...I also don't think many players run to the GM when the coach doesn't take their advice.

 

[Aussie Bruin]

few more quotes:

Q: There is a lot of discussion why David Pastrňák does not produce this season like before. Do you have an explanation?

"I understand that a lot is expected of him. He himself is used to having more goals and points. But I'm not worried about him. Pasta is able to score ten points in two games. Then he will be back to point per game again. He can easily be at 30 goals by the end of the season. As soon as he gets more confidence he will start to produce points. Everyone knows it's harder and more complicated for him now. That tragedy is difficult to forget (the death of a new born son). On top of everything two of his close friends, Krug and me, are no longer on the team. I don't want to speculate, I just think it has influenced his current production. But one thing surprised me."

Q: What thing?

"Cassidy rarely let us play on the same line. It must have been a rare situation to split the first line and put Pasta on my line. Two games max. After years, I leave Boston and suddenly it is possible. It struck me dumb. The coach always told me there is no reason to take Pasta off the first line and if it happens it would be only for a short time to spread the forces. I had to accept it. But now Pasta has five or so games on the line with Hall and Haula. Strange."

"Pasta and I were in sync, I dare to say that whenever we played together it worked for us well and also for the team. Sometimes the coach let us play together in the overtime or 4 on 4, we had an instant chemistry right away, we scored goals. Now I'm just thinking that if he could have taken Pasta off the first line for my line while I was still there everything could have been different. But it is what it is, I don't blame the coach. "

Q: Isn't the line Marchand, Bergeron, Pastrňák already known to other teams a litte bit?

"The other teams know how to play against them, but that doesn't mean they're going to stop them. When they have their day and get into the groove the other team can't stop them. It rather depends on their actual mood. The coach probably has decided that the other lines were not producing enough recently, he wanted to light them up. The result is quite there. Bergeron and Marchand have Smith now, they're doing well, and Pasta has picked up Hall's line. Even the third and fourth line with Nosek can score. Today's Boston has the first line that probably won't score three or four goals per game, but they can spread the scoring across more lines and can easily win by four goals. "

Q: Did Pastrňák have to significantly change his game on the 2nd line?

"To get out of Pasta most he needs to play his game. He needs smart players. I don't know Haula, only from the games he played against us. But Taylor Hall has everything a world class hockey player should have. He's really good. The thing is that Pasta needs a right-handed player who can feed him passes. After indicating a shot sends a pass to Pasta who can one time it. Same as is with Ovečkin or Stamkos. ”

In Boston, you were known to make your linemates a better hockey players. And now you are missed by Pastrňák and Hall, with whom you get used to very quickly. What do you think?

"It's a fact that Hall and I have been doing well since day one, we clicked immediately. On the ice and off as well. We made friends, went out to dinners and chatted a lot on the trips. It is known that if you have a good relationship with a linemate outside of arena it will show also on the ice. Hall is a star yet he is not selfish at all. I like such players. "

Thanks heaps for posting these full quotes. Krejci talks a lot of sense here, as usual. One thing I will disagree with though - his comment that Pasta needs a right-handed player to pass to him. The primary set up guy for Pasta over the years has been Marchand, by miles, and on PPs probably Krug. Both are left-handed. So I see where Krej is coming from, but it seems to me that Pasta is just fine working with left shot guys. However he's currently on a line with 2 lefties, and perhaps DK has a point in that it would be better if at least one of his linemates was right-handed. Interesting food for thought, especially as our board's favorite trade target Hertl is another left shot.

 

[chizzler]

I never thought Krejci and Pasta jelled. Pasta and Hall are similar and yet Hall gelled with Krejci. To have both, how would that work out?

 

[elMatador]

I never thought Krejci and Pasta jelled. Pasta and Hall are similar and yet Hall gelled with Krejci. To have both, how would that work out?

When Bergy was out with a ribcage injury in 2018 Krejci moved up. That line didn't miss a beat. Pasta didn't jell in his first years with Krejci as he was all ofense and no defense. On a line with Cehlarik initially they looked pretty dominant at times but the downside was Cehlarik was not a backchecking type nor shoot first type.

 

[BMC]

Taylor Hall likes to carry the puck blue line to blue line. He and Krejci fit like a glove. Heck, Marchand likes to carry the puck blue line to blue line (and is the best puck handler on the team) and he works fine with Pasta.

Mick is usually sharper than that.

I was going to say, what is the issue there? Hell all 3 (Hall-Krejci-Pasta) could alternate carrying the puck- what a nightmare for opposing teams!!!

 

[Number6]

It has to be a joke. Taylor Hall loves carrying the puck. How did they look together last season?

They looked amazing together indeed. Too bad it didn't last very long

 

[Gordoff]

How is it damning? DK isn't saying anything that no one knew about. This board has banging that drum for years and good Bruins reporters have mentioned it more than once as well. And if we know, Sweeney knows, and nothing was ever done. I am glad the top line is being broken up now, and it should have been done when DK was here for at least longer than a 1 game experiment, but I don't see the damning part.

It's "damning" because it's confirmation of what many of us thought. Inside confirmation is what was
for the most part missing. Now, it's there for all to see. Maybe if Butch put Pasta with DK he would've stayed for another year, who knows.

 

[Gordoff]

“But that’s the way it is, I don’t blame the coach.”

... he says after essentially blaming the coach.

"I don't blame the coach" maybe meaning that the coach didn't have much of a choice because
he kept the first line loaded up. So, he probably blames Sweeney for not properly filling the need on the
second line with DK.

 

[Gordoff]

It is damning because Cassidy would not break up that line even when keeping it together was detrimental to the team's overall success. (Hell, he even consulted with 63-37-88 before breaking it up!!!) No such consideration for David Krejci though he had to play with garbage the past 5 seasons. It is damning because Sweeney did absolutely nothing to truly correct the 2nd line issues a) knowing full well what a trouble spot it has been for the team and b) because he certainly knew Krejci would not take his very valid complaint about lack of help outside the locker room, as he was (like David Backes) a true professional. IMO Cassidy & Sweeney have f***ed over one of the best centers this franchise has ever had. I'll bet this bullshit made it that much easier for DK to decide to return to the Czech Republic when the time came for him to make his next career decision.

^^^^^^^^^THIS^^^^^^^^^^^^^^QFT!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Gordoff]

Add Grzelcyk dad

What happened, what did his dad have to say?

 

[Dr Hook]

It's "damning" because it's confirmation of what many of us thought. Inside confirmation is what was
for the most part missing. Now, it's there for all to see. Maybe if Butch put Pasta with DK he would've stayed for another year, who knows.

You can see it that way, sure. I don’t. Cassidy has been here 6 years now, and all of a sudden there is an avalanche of ‘damming’ stuff coming out? Where was it all last year or 2 years ago? But all of a sudden the team is just the right side of average and it isn’t the shitty roster Sweeney has assembled. Oh no, it’s the coach. I guess Cassidy is the whipping boy now. I don’t buy much of it. It’s typical Boston sports media and fans needing to have controversy and shit stirred up.

 

[Gordoff]

Cam is involved in every decision made.

People are taking this and ripping all over Cassidy but last time I checked he has to work with what Sweeney gives him which was approved by Cam.

Cassidy gets some blame because of his stubbornness to not change the lines. Sweeney gets blame because he didn't get Krejci a bonafied winger and Cam gets to slide? No.

The comments are more of an indictment of Sweeney and Neely than on Cassidy.

All 3 are can share in the blame but yeah, the two-headed beast at the top should be held most responsible for their lousy drafting and pro signings IMO.

 

[22Brad Park]

You left ,your gone so leave it alone .Thats my feeling on Krecji talking now .Should have spoke up when you were there.

 

[Gordoff]

I was one of his biggest critics. The fact that he spoke to Cassidy about it and Butch didn’t at least try it out for a bit makes me really feel bad about being critical of #46.

Butch is a stubborn SOB. I get that he has kept the team at the top during his tenure but the regular season is when you experiment with lineups and try to spread the wealth, no matter how sparse (beyond the first line).
This all leads to the playoffs for the payoff.

 

[LouJersey]

You left ,your gone so leave it alone .Thats my feeling on Krecji talking now .Should have spoke up when you were there.

Pasta getting demoted to line 2 for a bunch of games didn't happen until he was out of here

 

[Gordoff]

obnoxious because you don’t agree with it?

so at your job, they hire someone at 500 percent more salary than you, for 4 years and then bring back the person who last did your job and bounced you to entry level at 1/13 your prior pay?

you’d be cool with that?

He still has a lot to learn. He isn't (yet) at the top of where he will be and honestly unless you're an uber talent, not saying that he isn't but you have to pay your dues to make it in the NHL.
Rask did it, Thomas did it, even Ullmark did it.
Have to pay your dues.
He hasn't yet but will IMO. No need to hurry the process at this point.

 

[KrejciMVP]

You left ,your gone so leave it alone .Thats my feeling on Krecji talking now .Should have spoke up when you were there.

he can talk all he wants, in fact, I'd like him to say what ales the bruins more often

 

[Cronuss]

I really like Cassidy, but all of this stuff is starting to paint a pretty clear picture.
Debrusk
Senyshyn
Backes
Krecji
Who else?

 

[Gordoff]

I’m waiting for the translation of what Krejci dad has to say about Cassidy

now I understand why it’s in Cassidy contract no Dad’s Trips

I find it very interesting Cassidy avoided the Western Canada trip and avoid Louie DeBrusk in Edmonton

Yeah, I thought the same thing, that he didn't want to have to meet Louie face to face but thought that it was my overactive sense of suspicion.

 

[22Brad Park]

Pasta getting demoted to line 2 for a bunch of games didn't happen until he was out of here

Well he should have said straight out to Cassidy what he thought .It looks like he wants to take a shot at Cassidy now .I look at it like you made millions and wanted to go home so stop trying to cause trouble for team .He has to know them words would stir things up

 

[PatriceBergeronFan]

I really like Cassidy, but all of this stuff is starting to paint a pretty clear picture.
Debrusk
Senyshyn
Backes
Krecji
Who else?

The random former Bruins prospect whose name now escapes me in semi defense of Debrusk regarding Bruce handling players out of his favor.