Krejci

It wasn’t difficult to pick this week’s Bruin of the Week.

No player starred more at both ends of the rink for the Bruins in their two games — one win and one overtime defeat — than center David Krejci. (more…)

Krejci

WILMINGTON, Mass. — Center David Krejci joined the Bruins for practice this morning at Ristuccia Arena for the first time since he was diagnosed with H1N1 last week.

Krejci missed two games. Today he wore a gray practice sweater and skated on a line with Blake Wheeler and Vladimir Sobotka. Michael Ryder was the only missing Bruins player. Head coach Claude Julien said Ryder was just under the weather and the team is just being cautious with anyone that reports symptoms that could be something more serious.

Krejci

WILMINGTON, Mass. — Boston Bruins center David Krejci said today he’s doing well after hip surgery earlier this summer.

Krejci, at the Bruins’ Ristuccia Arena practice facility to work out while the club’s prospects endured the first on-ice day of the Third Annual Development Camp, said that his rehabilitation is on schedule and that he only feels pain when he does certain movements.

He hasn’t skated yet, but Krejci said he wouldn’t have hit the ice by this point of the offseason even if he didn’t have surgery. Typically he starts skating one week before training camp, so he’s hoping to be able to start skating sometime in September if everything stays on schedule. For now, he’ll continue to work out off the ice and head home to the Czech Republic for two weeks later this month.

Just days after signing a contract extension with the Boston Bruins, center David Krejci today underwent successful hip surgery, according to a statement issued by general manager Peter Chiarelli.

According to the statement, “The surgery was performed by Dr. Bryan T. Kelly at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City, and will force Krejci to miss approximately four to six months.”

So if you do the math, there’s a chance Krejci could be available when the Bruins open their regular season in early October. The 23-year-old set a career high with 73 points in just his second full NHL season and emerged as the Bruins’ No. 2 center and a force on both the power play and penalty kill.

Krejci

You can cross “sign a new contract” off Boston Bruins center David Krejci’s summer to-do list. Now he can move on to task No. 2, which is have hip surgery and be available to play for the Bruins as soon as possible this fall.

Krejci, who agreed to terms on a three-year deal with the Bruins worth a reported $11.25 million Tuesday, will undergo surgery tomorrow to repair his nagging hip injury. Today during a conference call he explained why he signed a new contract well in advance of becoming a restricted free agent July 1.

“Obviously, I wanted to sign before the first of July 1 and have a summer just to focus to get ready for the season,” said Krejci, who despite the balky hip set a career high with 73 points (second most on the Bruins). “And this was the place that I wanted to play next year and many years. And (general manager) Peter (Chiarelli) with my agent, they got a deal. Me and my agent decided it’s a good deal, and I love the city and it’s a place that I want to play. So I’m very happy and very excited for the next few years.” (more…)

Pierre LeBrun of ESPN.com reports that Boston Bruins center David Krejci’s new deal is for three years and worth a total of $11.25 million. According to LeBrun, Krejci will receive $3.5 million the first year, $3.75 million the second and $4 million the final season of the deal. That’s a cap hit of $3.75 per season — how’s that for some Peter Chiarelli economic magic? Now if he can get Phil Kessel to agree to a similar deal, he’ll be in business.

The Boston Bruins today announced that they have re-signed center David Krejci to a multi-year deal.

The 23-year-old Krejci was scheduled to be a restricted free agent July 1. In 2008-09 he set career highs in every major category with 22-51-73 totals in 82 regular-season games. He was second on the Bruins in scoring.

Krejci is scheduled to undergo surgery this week to repair a hip injury he battled through all season.

The Bruins do not disclose terms of their deals, but I’ll have more details as they become available (nhlnumbers.com has a way of breaking every teams’ cone of silence). And there will be comments from Krejci and Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli after a conference call tomorrow.

Krejci

For those wondering how Boston Bruins center David Krejci, who just celebrated his 23rd birthday in late April, could already need to have his hip repaired, Michael S. Schmidt of the New York Times has an interesting story today talking about the epidemic of hip injuries throughout all sports.

While the focus of the story is mostly on baseball players like Chase Utley, Carlos Delgado and Alex Rodriguez, it also digs into the hip injuries suffered by hockey (namely Rick DiPietro) and soccer players. (more…)

Krejci

The total package. That’s what center David Krejci was considered from the time the Boston Bruins drafted him all the way through the start of this season’s training camp. He had been a force at every other level, so there was nothing left to prove except that he could make the same plays, show the same instincts and shutdown opponents the same way in the NHL.

Consider Krejci’s reputation proven at the game’s highest level. Maybe no other player in the entire league had a bigger breakout season, and to think he did it for most of the year on a balky right hip. The chemistry Krejci forged with winger Michael Ryder, and at times Blake Wheeler, made the Bruins into a team with a No. 1 and a No. 1A line — one that finished atop the league in goals scored. (more…)

Kessel

BOSTON — Center David Krejci and winger Phil Kessel, two of the Boston Bruins’ up-and-coming offensive stars, are both headed for offseason surgeries that will postpone the start of their 2009-10 season.

Krejci played the entire season with a balky right hip, that he says probably got worse over the last four or five years. Kessel suffered a torn rotator cuff and labrum when he was hit by Columbus defenseman Jan Hejda March 10. Both stars are expected to need at least four to six months to recover.

Still, Krejci was the Bruins’ second-leading scorer with 73 points and Kessel led the team with 36 goals. But both were obviously limited by the time they got to the seven-game,  second-round defeat to Carolina. (more…)

Krejci

WILMINGTON, Mass. — As they prepare for Game 7 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series with the Boston Bruins, the Carolina Hurricanes now have something added to their scouting report on David Krejci: a between the legs pass that would make “Magic” Johnson envious.

Krejci unveiled his fancy feed early in last night’s Game 6, as it set up Steve Montador for the goal that put the Bruins ahead, 2-0. They went on to win, 4-2, to force tomorrow’s do-or-die contest.

“I didn’t have the room to get a shot or something. So I tried to do the best thing I could,” Krejci said today after the Bruins’ off-ice workout at Ristuccia Arena. “And I tried to get the puck to Monty. He had the room in front of him and he made a good shot. (Byron) Bitz was in front of the net screening the goalie.” (more…)

Ryder

During his second year of junior hockey with Gatineau of the QMJHL, Boston Bruins center David Krejci lived with a teammate from Newfoundland.

From what he can recall, that arrangement worked out fine. Little did the Czech Republic native know that his interaction with a player from that province would get even better once he established himself in the NHL. Michael Ryder has proven to be the perfect fit on Krejci’s right wing this season, most recently during a five-game playoff run that’s featured Ryder piling up nine points (five goals) and Krejci registering six points (three goals).

“I think it’s just the fact that David is a pretty creative player and he likes to set up players,” said head coach Claude Julien today after the Bruins practiced in Wilmington, Mass. “And Michael’s a shooter and he likes to get out in the open and take those shots. At the same time, he’s also a guy that’s pretty strong along the boards protecting the puck and that kind of stuff. So I think the two of them complement each other very well.” (more…)

WILMINGTON, Mass. — During the Boston Bruins’ four-game sweep of their season series with the Carolina Hurricanes during the regular season, two players stood out on offense more than any of the other skaters in black and gold.

Center David Krejci led the team with seven points (three goals) and consistent linemate Blake Wheeler chipped in with five points (three goals) against the Hurricanes. While they probably won’t be on the same line for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinal series tomorrow night against the Hurricanes, both are hoping to continue their regular-season scoring touch against the conference’s sixth seed.

“It’s just one of those things. In the regular season, I didn’t do well against Montreal. And in the playoffs the same thing. But I don’t know what it is,” said Wheeler today after practice at Ristuccia Arena when asked about his success against Carolina. “It’s just sometimes you find yourself producing against different teams for different reasons. I don’t know why, the puck just seemed to find the net for me and (Krejci) as well.

“Hopefully it continues this round. It’d be great to be able to contribute and we’ll just see what happens. Obviously there’s a lot of ways to contribute in the playoffs so I guess that’s one way.” (more…)

Wideman

BOSTON — The first two minutes of Game 1 of last spring’s Eastern Conference quarterfinal series between Boston and Montreal at Bell Centre were two minutes members of the Bruins would like forget. Unfortunately, stuff like that has a way of sticking in one’s mind.

I asked Bruins defenseman Dennis Wideman, who made his NHL playoff debut in that game, how he’s more prepared for Game 1 this time around. And his thoughts went round and round before landing on the pain that was that opening two minutes.

“I think last year I was — it’s tough to say right now — but I remember in the morning last year before the game I was a lot more nervous last year than I am this year. This year is more excitement and just being ready to go,” he said after the Bruins’ morning skate at TD Banknorth Garden. “I think last year I just didn’t know what to expect. It was the first game and it was in Montreal and how loud it was going to be, I don’t think I knew what to expect — as you could tell. I think they scored two goals in the first two minutes, something like that.” (more…)

Is that Claude Julien in the "cone of silence."

Heading into this weekend’s final two games of the regular season, there are four Boston Bruins with a chance to appear in all 82 contests for the club this season.

So will they get the chance?

“I’m under the ‘cone of silence,’” head coach and obvious “Get Smart” fan Claude Julien responded today when asked about the chance we’ll see Zdeno Chara, Marc Savard, Mark Stuart and David Krejci close out the season without a missing a date.

But on a serious note, Julien said he’s going to take it game by game, and the addition of Vladimir Sobotka and Mikko Lehtonen from Providence (AHL) and the potential return from injury of Dennis Wideman and P.J. Axelsson certainly gives the Bruins’ coach a number of options. (more…)