David KrejÃÂÃÂ (, born 28 April 1986) is a Czech former professional ice hockey centre who played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League with the Boston Bruins. He was part of the Bruins' Stanley Cup win in 2011 and led the NHL in points during the 2011 and 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs. Internationally he has played for the Czech national team at several tournaments, including the 2010, 2014, and 2022 Winter Olympics and four World Championships.
David KrejÃÂàwas born on April 28, 1986, in à  ternberk, a small town in the Moravia region of what was then Czechoslovakia and is now the Czech Republic. He is the son of ZdenÃÂk and Renata KrejÃÂÃÂ, and has an older brother, ZdenÃÂk jr, his father, was also a hockey player turned coach.
KrejÃÂàstarted playing junior hockey with HC Olomouc U18 in the Czechia U18 league during the 2000âÂÂ01 season, he scored 2 goals and 6 assists in 26 games. During the 2001âÂÂ02 campaign, he turned into one of the leagues to scorers, scoring 32 goals and 27 assists for in 48 games, contributing. In 2002âÂÂ03, scored 46 points (16 goals and 30 assists) in 27 games while also debuting with Tà Âinec's U20 squad, where he scored 9 points in 12 games.
KrejÃÂÃÂ was drafted by the Boston Bruins in the third round, 63rd overall, of the 2004 NHL entry draft. He was drafted out of Czech junior leagues, having played for HC Kladno. Following his selection, he moved to North America to play major junior hockey in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) for the Gatineau Olympiques for two seasons. In his two seasons with the Gatineau Olympiques, KrejÃÂÃÂ played in 117 games recording 49 goals, recording 144 points.
KrejÃÂàturned professional in 2006âÂÂ07, playing for the Bruins' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Providence Bruins. He played in his first NHL game on 30 January 2007 in a 7âÂÂ1 loss against the Buffalo Sabres but suffered a concussion from Buffalo's Adam Mair during his third shift. He recorded just 2:07 minutes of ice time. KrejÃÂàplayed increasingly with Boston the following season, appearing in 56 NHL games to go with 25 games for Providence. On 19 February 2008, KrejÃÂàwas involved in a shootout tie-breaker round in a Bruins road game against the Carolina Hurricanes and scored to help the Bruins take the shootout 2âÂÂ1. KrejÃÂÃÂ's shootout tally would not register as his first NHL goal, as shootout goals do not count towards a player's statistical totals. KrejÃÂàscored his first official NHL goal one week later, on 26 February against Martin Gerber of the Ottawa Senators, the second Bruins' goal in a 4âÂÂ0 home shutout. He finished his rookie NHL season with 6 goals and 27 points.
During the 2008âÂÂ09 season, KrejÃÂàscored his first NHL hat-trick on 18 December 2008 against the Toronto Maple Leafs. He registered his first two goals against starter Vesa Toskala and his third against Curtis Joseph in an 8âÂÂ5 Bruins win. About the midpoint of that season, NESN's play-by-play TV announcer Jack Edwards for televised Bruins games gave KrejÃÂàthe nickname "The Matrix" due to his ability to slow down the pace of a game through his skating style and abilities on the ice. Before a game on 2 April 2009, KrejÃÂàwas named the winner of the Boston Bruins' 2009 Seventh Player Award. The award is given annually to the player who "goes beyond the call of duty and exceeds all expectations" throughout the course of the season. During the game, KrejÃÂàassisted on a goal by Milan Lucic, the 2008 winner of the Seventh Player Award, in a 2âÂÂ1 home ice victory over the Ottawa Senators. He completed his second NHL season with a then-career-high 73 points in 82 games to go with a league-high +37 plus-minus rating. On 2 June 2009, he signed a multi-year contract extension with the Bruins, reportedly a three-year contract paying an average of $3.75 million per year.
At the beginning of November 2009, KrejÃÂÃÂ was noticeably ill; on 5 November 2009, it was confirmed that KrejÃÂÃÂ had been diagnosed with the H1N1 virus, which sidelined him for some time.
On 5 May 2010, during the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs, KrejÃÂÃÂ dislocated his wrist less than five minutes into a game when he was checked at the Bruins' blue line by Philadelphia Flyers' centre Mike Richards. Surgery was needed and was performed following the game at Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore, and KrejÃÂÃÂ missed the remainder of the playoffs.
On 25 May 2011, in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Tampa Bay Lightning, KrejÃÂàrecorded his second NHL career hat-trick. He was the first Bruin to record a playoff hat-trick since Cam Neely, two decades prior. On 15 June, KrejÃÂàand the Bruins won the team's first Stanley Cup in 39 years after defeating the Vancouver Canucks 4âÂÂ0 in Game 7 of the Finals. KrejÃÂàfinished the 2011 playoffs with a playoff-leading 12 goals, 23 points and 4 game-winning goals.
On 1 March 2012, in a game against the New Jersey Devils, KrejÃÂàscored his third career hat-trick, scoring in the first, third and overtime periods in a 4âÂÂ3 win. In Game 4 of the 2013 opening round playoffs against the Toronto Maple Leafs, KrejÃÂàscored a hat-trick, including the game-winning goal in overtime. KrejÃÂàwould also lead the league again in points in the playoffs with 26, but his team fell short to the Chicago Blackhawks 4âÂÂ2 in the Finals.
On 1 October 2013, KrejÃÂÃÂ was named an alternate captain of the Bruins. On 25 October 2013, he scored a game-winning goal with 0.8 seconds left against the San Jose Sharks and goaltender Antti Niemi.
On 3 September 2014, KrejÃÂàsigned a six-year contract extension with the Bruins. During a road game on 20 February 2015 against the St. Louis Blues, KrejÃÂàsuffered a partial tear of his MCL in his left knee, forcing him off the ice for 4âÂÂ6 weeks for recovery.
During the Bruins' home game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on 8 December 2018, KrejÃÂàbecame the tenth-highest scoring Bruins player of all-time (surpassing Cam Neely) when he recorded a goal and an assist in a 6âÂÂ3 Bruins' win, bringing his points total to 592. Three days later, on 11 December, KrejÃÂàplayed his 800th NHL game, recording three assists in a Bruins' 4âÂÂ3 home win over the Arizona Coyotes. Just one week later, on 20 December, KrejÃÂàrecorded his 600th career NHL point after scoring the Bruins' third goal in a 4âÂÂ1 home ice defeat of the Anaheim Ducks.
As of the end of the 2020âÂÂ21 season, KrejÃÂÃÂ's 42 playoff goals ranked him seventh on the Bruins' all-time list of postseason scorers. At that time, he was also ranked 16th in Boston history in regular-season goals scored (215), seventh in assists (515) and eighth in total points (730).
On 30 July 2021, KrejÃÂÃÂ announced that he was leaving the NHL and intended to return to the Czech Republic to continue his career. The Bruins' general manager, Don Sweeney, indicated that the team would "keep the door open" for a return in the future if KrejÃÂÃÂ decided to return.
In his return to his roots, KrejÃÂàreturned to his first club as a junior, agreeing to a one-year contract with Czech club, HC Olomouc of the Czech Extraliga (ELH), on 2 August 2021. In the 2021âÂÂ22 season, as an alternate captain with Olomouc, KrejÃÂàled the team in scoring, notching 20 goals and 46 points through 51 regular season games. He added 5 points through 5 post-season games in a qualifying round defeat to HC VÃÂtkovice Ridera.
After concluding his one-year contract with Olomouc, KrejÃÂàopted to return for a 16th season with the Bruins, agreeing to a bonus laden one-year, $1 million contract on 8 August 2022. He played his 1,000th NHL game on 16 January 2023 at TD Garden against the Philadelphia Flyers, dishing out three assists in a 6âÂÂ0 victory.
On 14 August 2023, KrejÃÂÃÂ retired from the NHL after 18 seasons. However, he later clarified he had not retired from hockey overall, due to interest in playing for the Czech national team at the Czech-hosted 2024 IIHF World Championship, as well as a potential short-term return to a European professional league.
On 1 December 2023, KrejÃÂÃÂ retired from hockey entirely due to persistent health problems.
After the Bruins' 2007âÂÂ08 season ended, KrejÃÂàwas named to the Czech national team on 26 April 2008, for the 2008 IIHF World Championships. He was named to the Czech national team for the 2010 Winter Olympics, playing centre on a line with wingers TomÃ¡à ¡ Fleischmann and Martin Erat to open the Games.
Following the Bruins' defeat to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the second round of the 2018 playoffs, KrejÃÂÃÂ was invited to participate at the 2018 IIHF World Championship.
Krejci was named an assistant captain for the Czech national team for the 2022 Winter Olympics. Unfortunately, the Olympics would bring the worst result ever for the Czechs, as they finished 9th. However, Krejci and the Czechs would get redemption at the international level later that year, capturing his second bronze at the 2022 IIHF World Championships, once again serving as an assistant captain.
KrejÃÂÃÂ married his wife, Naomi Starr, in 2014. They have two children together: Elina and Everett.
<small>Bold indicates led league</small>