Bruins Sign Krejci to Contract Extension

By KC Downey in Bruins, Top Story ⋅ June 2, 2009 at 6:44pm ⋅ Post a comment

After a breakout season, Bruins center David Krejci became a restricted free agent and could sign a max deal with any team, but GM Peter Chiarelli wouldn’t have any of it. He re-signed his second line center on Tuesday to a three-year contract extension with an annual cap hit of $3.75 million.

Under the new terms of the deal, Krejci will earn $3.5 million in 2009-10, $3.75 million in 2010-11, and $4 million in 2011-12. It’s a great deal for both player and team given the current economy, and Krejci will be in position to earn a lot more after the extension ends when he’s an unrestricted free agent in a better U.S. economy.

Krejci, who had 22 goals and 51 assists (a career-high 73 points) this season, will undergo hip surgery on Thursday, but told Chiarelli he’ll be ready by the beginning of next season.

“A lot of people thought he had a coming-out party,” said Peter Chiarelli, in town for the GM meetings. “But we’ve seen him progress. You’ve seen him progress. You’ve seen him get stronger. The non-offensive part of his game has improved greatly. We had a few key guys to sign, so we’re happy to get it done.”

The Bruins will next work to re-sign their other restricted free agents: Phil Kessel, Matt Hunwick, and Byron Bitz.

About KC Downey

KC is the "head coach" of the Sports of Boston, LLC blog network. Follow him on Twitter: @kc_downey

Tags: Bruins, David Krejci

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One comment for “Bruins Sign Krejci to Contract Extension”

[...] the offseason highlight would arguably have to be the re-signing of young centerman David Krejci to a budget-friendly, 3-year, $11.25 million deal, a bigger deal still remains in the balance for the team’s other young restricted free agent, [...]

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