Bruins plan more than a reunion: Bergeron, Krejci ink one-year, incentive-laden contracts

The reunion of Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci, who for over a decade formed the spinal cord with which the Boston Bruins sustained perennial Stanley Cup contention, will be challenged to deliver in keeping with their legacy of brilliance.

Next month, the two graybeards enter Bruins training camp at ages 37 and 36, respectively, and it was not out of the bag until this week that either, much less both, would be signing incentive-laden, one-year contracts to skate again in the NHL.

If only for the sake of a farewell tour, this is something to behold, much as Pittsburgh fans will cherish every game that both Sidney Crosby (35) and Evgeni Malkin (36) are in the Penguins lineup.

Let's hope all four hockey treasures will be healthy and in uniform Jan. 2 at Fenway Park for the Winter Classic of the Ages.

The last time two elite centermen averaging over 36 won the Stanley Cup, Jean Beliveau was 39 and Henri Richard was 34. The 2001-02 Detroit Red Wings were altogether ancient, but Steve Yzerman was 36 (Krejci's age) and Sergei Federov was only 32.

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The sands of time are pouring faster now through the hourglass of the Bergeron-Krejci era, and maybe that's the real point of this reunion.

Not so much what Bergeron and Krejci can accomplish in what could be their curtain-call campaign, but what they can do in this limited time for Jack Studnicka and Pavel Zacha, two developing centers who aspire to careers like theirs?

Yes, the band is back together to make a push, but management is thinking beyond 2023.

Inasmuch as Studnicka has struggled in NHL Boston to maintain the confidence that has come so naturally to him playing in AHL Providence, his pro hockey career is at crossroads. New coach Jim Montgomery will bring a new voice and new offensive strategies.

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At age 23, the 6-foot-1, 171-pound Studnicka, a 2017 second-round pick who in June signed a team-friendly, two-year, $1.525 million contract that will expire without true free agency, will need to earn his NHL shifts. The modest contract notwithstanding, this is a golden opportunity for him. He cannot ask for more.

Neither can Zacha, the rangy Czech centerman whom the Devils apparently knew would walk after the 2022-23 season. Theoretically, Zacha could walk from Boston in 2023, his $3.5 million contract good for one year only.

Nonetheless, trading 31-year-old Eric Haula, a prototypical journeyman if there ever was one, is well worth a gamble on Zacha's enormous potential.

The Bruins hope like hell that some Krejci and Bergeron will rub off on the 25-year-old center.

Chosen sixth overall in 2015 — yes, that draft — Zacha had been an underwhelming presence in the New Jersey lineup. He scored a goal against the Bruins last season that was more spectacular than brilliant, essentially assisted by Jake DeBrusk's tentative backcheck.

Which leads to the inevitable question, is Zacha the guy who torched the Bruins on a 4-on-4 or is he just another regret out of the 2015 draft class?

Let's not forget Zacha is a big body (6-3, 210 pounds), the kind that takes more years to grow into so he can compete effectively against men. Joe Thornton might know something about that.

Let's also not forget Zacha has been developing his NHL game playing on a perennial doormat, New Jersey's dynasty but a distant memory.

Urgency will follow Zacha who, like draft classmates DeBrusk and Jakub Zboril, is now closer to age 30 than 19. For various reasons, none from Boston's 2015 draft class has rivaled the career of, say, Sebastian Aho. But, rather than shy away from this tainted legacy, General Manager Don Sweeney is doubling down on a slow-developing center from that same draft.

Whatever you want to call Sweeney, he's not gutless. He tunes out the noise and acts as he believes. In two bench changes over seven years running the Bruins, he may have fired two of the five best hockey coaches of the 21st century.

That is not how a puppet regime works.

Sweeney's remaining task for this offseason is getting the Bruins back under the NHL's $82.5 million salary cap (they're $2.242 million over). Someone's cap hit has got to go. Craig Smith is wearing the bullseye, but should we rule out DeBrusk or Charlie Coyle (eight-team no-trade)?

Once settled and arranged around Bergeron and Krejci, the Bruins should be a tougher playoff out, presuming of course that Brad Marchand, Charlie McAvoy and Matt Grzelcyk make successful comebacks from their offseason surgeries.

Until then, Studnicka and especially Zacha have a golden opportunity to study the greats in their midst.

The time is now. Carpe diem.

Mick Colageo writes about hockey for The Standard-Times. Follow him on Twitter @MickColageo.

This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: Bruins plan more than a reunion with Bergeron, Krejci back for 2022-23