Bruins bring back Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci

The Boston Bruins are bringing back two of their long-time veterans. On Monday, the Bruins re-signed long-time captain Patrice Bergeron to a one-year deal worth $2.5 million according to Scott Maxwell of dailyfaceoff.com and announced they are bringing back center David Krejci of Sternberk, Czech Republic to a one-year deal worth $1 million according to Rogers Sportsnet.

Bargains

There is no doubt that the Bruins got Bergeron and Krejci on bargain prices. Even though Bergeron and Krejci are nearing the end of their National Hockey League careers, they still have a lot to give whoever they play for, and there is no doubt Bruins General Manager Don Sweeney deserves significant amount of credit for getting “bang for his buck.”

Patrice Bergeron

A two-time Canadian Olympic gold medalist, Bergeron, a center, is simply one of the best defensive forwards in the National Hockey League at age 37. The native of Ancienne-Lorette, Quebec scored 25 goals and had 40 assists for 65 points in 73 games. He was a +26 with 32 penalty minutes, 23 power-play points, four game-winning goals, three shorthanded points, 293 shots on goal, 991 faceoff wins, 45 blocked shots, 78 hits, 37 takeaways and 21 giveaways.

Bergeron has been with the Bruins since 2003-04. In 1216 regular season games, he has exactly 400 goals, 582 assists, 982 points, a +254, 472 penalty minutes, 307 power-play points, 46 shorthanded points, 74 game-winning goals, and 3725 shots on goal. Once Bergeron has led the NHL in plus/minus. He was a +36 in 20011-12. Bergeron also played in the 2015, 2016 and 2022 NHL All-Star Games.

Surprise Selke Trophy Winner

When the National Hockey League hardware was handed out, Bergeron won his fifth Selke Trophy for the best defensive forward. In addition to winning the award in 2022, he won the award in 2012, 2014, 2015, and 2017. There seemed to be some sympathy to Bergeron among the NHL voters despite the fact that Elias Lindholm of the Calgary Flames deserved the award significantly more this past season. However, the East Coast bias once again returned to the voters. Lindholm was a remarkable +61 (+35 more than Bergeron), had seven more blocked shots than Bergeron (52 for Lindholm and 45 for Bergeron), and 18 more takeaways (55 for Lindholm and 37 for Bergeron).

International Success

One of Bergeron’s greatest achievements has been his sensational production over the years for Team Canada. As mentioned he was a two-time Olympic gold medalist from the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver and the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi. He has also won the gold medal for Canada at the 2004 World Men’s Hockey Championship in Prague, 2005 World Junior Hockey Championship in Grand Forks, North Dakota, the 2012 Spengler Cup in Davos, Switzerland and the 2016 World Cup in Toronto, Ontario.

David Krejci

Krejci was with the Bruins from 2006 to 2021. This past season however he returned to Europe and played one season for HC Olomouc of the Czech Republic. In his career, Krejci has 215 goals and 515 assists for 730 points and is a +143. He has 339 penalty minutes, 191 power-play points, 12 shorthanded points, 41 game-winning goals, 1736 shots on goal. Like Bergeron, Krejci has led the NHL in plus/minus. He was a +37 in 2008-09, and a +39 in 2013-14.

Postseason Success

Both Krejci and Bergeron have had plenty of playoff success. Bergeron and Krejci both won a Stanley Cup with Boston in 2011. In 167 playoff games, Bergeron has 49 goals and 78 assists for 127 points, was a +48 with 96 penalty minutes, 16 power-play goals, three shorthanded goals, 10 game-winning goals and 549 shots on goal. In 156 games, Krejci has 42 goals and 82 assists for 124 points, was a +23 with 60 penalty minutes, 12 power-play goals, eight game-winning goals, and 314 shots on goal.