By: Steve McClure | Follow me on Twitter / X @stmcclure1993
Bruins fans have a birthday to celebrate today. Let’s wish a happy 38th birthday to Stanley Cup-winner David Krejci of the Boston Bruins!
A third-round draft pick in 2004, Krejci was a classic playmaking center during his tenure in Boston. His excellent vision on the ice made him a valued special-teams player throughout his career.
Making his professional debut on January 30, 2007, the Czechoslovakian puck handler would become a productive second-line center behind Marc Savard by his second full year. During that 2008-09 season, Krejci finished with 73 points (22 goals, 51 assists) over 82 games while centering a line with Blake Wheeler and Michael Ryder.
By the 2010-2011 season, Krejci was working in tandem with Nathan Horton and Milan Lucic, a line that would find great success in the 2011 playoffs. “Playoff Krejci”—a title attributed to him due to his abundant playoff output—led all NHL players in playoff points that Stanley Cup championship year with 23. The dynamic center would duplicate the feat again during the 2013 playoff run with a total of 26 points.
In a career spent entirely with the Boston Bruins, Krejci scored 229 career goals and added 556 assists for 785 total points. He sits at ninth place on the Bruins’ all-time regular season ‘point leaders’ list and fifth place on the Bruins’ all-time regular season ‘assist leaders’ list. ‘Krech’ is tied with Patrice Bergeron at third place for Bruins’ all-time playoff points.
According to longtime teammate Brad Marchand last year, “[Krejci] always comes up big at big times, and on our playoff runs, he’s always our top scorer and just comes up with huge goals at the opportune moment,” Marchand said. “Regardless of the situation, I don’t know if he feels the pressure or not, but he’s just able to just thrive and just come through in the big moments. So it’s been fun to watch.”
A native of Sternberk, Czechoslovakia, Krejci retired from the Bruins in 2023. David Krejci was named an All-Centennial member of the Bruins this past fall to celebrate the organization’s greatest players of the last 100 years.
Thanks to writer Jimmy Murphy for the Marchand quotation on Krejci.
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