Krejci Wonders if 2019 Cup Final Would have Ended Differently if Cassidy had Listened to Him

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TJ Tucker
August 22, 2023 (8:25)

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With David Krejci of the Boston Bruins officially announcing his retirement recently, there was no question he'd be asked to reflect on his career a lot in the interviews that followed. A new one from his home country of Czechia has him doing just that, with Cassidy saying he has a regret from his time with the Bruins when it comes to head coach Bruce Cassidy.

In the interview, Krejci said he asked several times to play more often on a line with fellow Czech David Pastrnak. However, he rarely got to do so when Cassidy was there. Krejci said Cassidy preferred to keep Pastrnak with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand, something he felt could have made a major difference when it came to losing in the Stanley Cup Final to St. Louis in 2019.

"We had a great relationship off the ice, we had great conversations, but I regret one thing."

"I think he could have shuffled those three and helped me out a little bit. That and the team. We went to the finals in 2019, I had over 70 points in the season without playing with Pasta for an extended period of time. If Cassidy had seen it a little differently back then..." said Krejci, trailing off without finishing his sentence.

Outside of that, Krejci called Cassidy a great hockey mind and a great human being. He had nothing negative to say about either of this three coaches with the Bruins, adding Claude Julien was really strict with him when it was exactly what he needed.

"He knew exactly when to yell at me. He had me read and to this day I am still grateful for his attitude towards me. We won the Stanley Cup together. He was the one who pushed me on how to play in the most important games of the season."

Source: iSport.blesk.cz