David Krejci came out of obscurity and broke out last season with 73 points. He inherited the second line center duties and more minutes when Patrice Bergeron went down with another concussion and took full advantage of his opportunity. Whether he played with Michael Ryder, Milan Lucic, Blake Wheeler, Phil Kessel or Chuck Kobasew, Krecji showed his versatility by flourishing in any circumstance.
Nothing really went wrong for Krejci last year as he became an instant legitimate fantasy stud. For his efforts, the Bruins signed him to a 3 year/$11.25 million deal that has likely put Phil Kessel on the outs in Boston.
However, this offseason, the young Czech playmaker needed surgery to repair an injured hip. It was a successful minor procedure, but it is still going to keep him from playing the first few weeks of the season. The Boston Globe reports indicate that Krejci’s hip has healed quicker than expected and has been skating around with his team mates, but is still slated to miss the beginning of the season.
Injuries that keep a player from starting the season always hurt the players value. Firstly, their timing will be a step behind all the other players, who have been already playing at game speed for weeks. And secondly, they are susceptible to losing their job to players that got out of the gate quickly and ceased the opportunity left by the injured player.
In Krejci’s case, the second factor is what should worry current and potential Krejci fantasy owners. This is because there is a very capable and proven center right behind him in Patrice Bergeron – the same player he took the job of last season because of injury.
Bergeron is likely to start the season as the second line center and if he can get off to a good start and stay healthy, he will be able to reacquire that position even after Krejci comes back. Owners will have to hope for a speedy recvery from Krejci and that Bergeron falters out of the gate.
However, 50MC believes that Bergeron will take a strangle hold on that second line center position and remain their for the majority of the season. This leaves Krejci as the third line center and often floating on the second line. For the Bruins, this gives them very good depth at center, but for fantasy owners, it leaves Krejci with decreased minutes with good powerplay time.
Therefore, David Krejci will still have a good season, but not as good as last year’s breakout. 50MC fearlessly forecasts 13 goals, 33 assists, 46 points for Jon Heder on skates. (THN predicts: 78 games – 21/38/59)
50MC’s Fearless Fantasy Forecasts:
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