Krejci retires from NHL after 16 seasons with Bruins

David Krejci, the ninth-leading scorer in Boston Bruins history, retired Monday after 16 NHL seasons, all with the Bruins.

His run included three trips to the Stanley Cup Final (2011, 2013, 2019) and a championship in 2011 against the Vancouver Canucks.

"The decision was made I would say when my injuries started to happen at the end of the season, but I didn't want to rush my decision," Krejci said Tuesday. "I wanted to take my time and really think things over because you don't want to make a decision when the emotions are going through you. I just realized there's never a right time, never a right moment to retire from NHL, but I felt like it was time. I knew my body couldn't take 82 games anymore. That was the decision."

The 37-year-old center who was often considered the "1B" to Patrice Bergeron, Krejci finished his NHL career with 786 points (231 goals, 555 assists) in 1,032 games and 128 points (43 goals, 85 assists) in 160 Stanley Cup Playoff games after being selected by Boston in the second round (No. 63) of the 2004 NHL Draft.

Bergeron, the Bruins captain since the 2020-21 season, announced his retirement July 25 after 19 NHL seasons, all with Boston.

"I was just trying to keep up with 'Bergy' every year, trying to be as good as him or get as good as I could. Not just on the ice but even the professional he is off the ice," Krejci said. "I knew I could never come close to that, but just watching him and seeing his work ethic made me a better player. … He pushed me hard in the summer. I take pride in my summer workouts every year. It's mainly because of Bergy, because I know how hard he works and I had to work as hard just to be in the same position and be right there with him and be able to help the team to be successful as a No. 1 and No. 2 centermen."

After playing in his native Czech Republic in 2021-22, in front of his family and country for HC Olomouc of Extraliga, that nation's top professional league, Krejci returned to the NHL last season and had 56 points (16 goals, 40 assists) in 70 regular-season games for the Bruins and four points (one goal, three assists) in four postseason games.

Krejci appears near the top of several Bruins statistics, including games played (fifth), assists (fifth), goals (13th) and game-winning goals (43, 11th). He was an alternate captain for the last nine seasons he played for them.

He led all playoff scorers twice over the course of his career. He had 23 points (12 goals, 11 assists) in 25 games in 2011 and 26 points (nine goals, 17 assists) in 22 games in 2013. His 128 points are tied for second in Bruins history with Bergeron (170 games) and Brad Marchand (146), behind Ray Bourque (161 points in 180 games). Krejci ranks second to Bourque in playoff assists (125) for Boston and is sixth in goals.

"He's a big-time player in big-time games," said forward Milan Lucic, who played most of his eight seasons with the Bruins on Krejci's wing. "He always knew how to raise his game to the highest level when the team needed him the most."

Krejci scored an NHL career-high 23 goals twice (2011-12, 2016-17) and had an NHL career-high 73 points twice (22 goals, 51 assists in 2008-09; 20 goals, 53 assists in 2018-19).

Krejci will retire from the NHL but could still represent the Czech Republic in the 2024 IIHF World Championship. He has represented the Czech Republic twice at the Olympics (2010, 2014) and has played in the World Championship four times (2008, 2012, 2018, 2022).

"I retired from NHL because I know my body can't take the whole season. I have things that I would have to get done, surgeries, and at my age, I'm not ready to do that. I don't want to do that anymore," Krejci said. "But this year the World Championship is in Prague, in my hometown. I never played there. So that's something it's just kind of in the back of my head. … If at some point around Christmas I feel like let's get ready, play a couple months somewhere in Europe, get ready for the World Championship, can be done in two weeks, come back home. Yeah, that's something I'm thinking about. But I'm definitely not going to play anywhere the whole year."

NHL.com staff writer Amalie Benjamin contributed to this report