"First you've got to get to the [Stanley Cup] Playoffs, that's really important. And then memories kind of come back from the years before, and that's when you kind of talk about it a little bit more," Krejci said Wednesday after a captain's practice. "But first, we've got to get in that position to be able to use those experiences. In the regular season, it's just about making the top eight. It's a different format than it used to be, but yeah, you've got to make the playoffs and go from there. So we don't really need to talk about it that much, we all know what happened. So just make the playoffs and make another run."
Krejci, who was selected by Boston in the second round (No. 63) of the 2004 NHL Draft, has been an important part of the Bruins' success for more than a decade, helping them win the Stanley Cup in 2011 and advance to the Final in 2013 and 2019. Last season, he was fourth on the Bruins with 73 points (20 goals, 53 assists) in 81 regular-season games and had 16 points (four goals, 12 assists) in 24 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
At 33 years old, though, Krejci isn't heading into the upcoming season with individual goals in mind.
"It's not really about points," he said. "After a loss like that (Game 7 to the Blues), I just want to get to the playoffs and make another run. It was so much fun; the hockey is up and down. The emotions are one day you're feeling great, you have one loss, it's the worst thing ever. It's part of it, but it's so exciting and it's awesome. So I obviously want to have a strong regular season, but hockey in April, May, June, that's the best hockey. So we just got to get there and then the fun starts."
Although Krejci is part of an aging Bruins core along with defenseman Zdeno Chara (42 years old), forwards Patrice Bergeron (34) and Brad Marchand (31), and goalie Tuukka Rask (32), he said he doesn't think that adds a greater sense of urgency to the Bruins this season.
"I know you guys write lots of things like that, 'On the wrong side of 30,' so I have no idea what the wrong side of 30 means," Krejci said. "To me, I thought that was when you were in your late 30s. But no, I mean, look at guys around the League in their 30s, they're really good players. Look at our guys in their 30s, we all had a really good season last year. We're just a couple months older than we were last season. We're not a year older, we're just a couple months older. So I feel like we're in good shape and we're ready to go."
