Amid the lingering mysteries of the Bruins’ late-season collapse, David Krejci cleared up one of them Monday, the veteran pivot revealing he soon will undergo surgery for a left hip he injured late in the season.
Offering scant details about the nature of the injury, he told media members during the club’s breakup day at the Garden he was hurt with roughly a quarter of the season to go, and the team’s medical staff helped get him through the final 4-6 weeks of the schedule.
“It’s been bothering me for 20 or so games,’’ said the 29-year-old, considered by many the club’s No. 1 center. “But we have a good medical staff here and they got me through games. So I still felt like I was in decent shape to play games, and there’s been games where I thought I felt pretty good. So I was able to finish the season and I was even ready to play the playoffs, but . . . ’’
Instrumental to the club’s success on offense, and therefore its overall fortunes, Krejci was held without a point and logged a minus-2 in Saturday’s season-ending loss to Ottawa. He ended the season tied for with Loui Eriksson for second on the team in points (63), but his skating and offense were clearly hindered down the stretch.
Prior to a respectable 2-5—7 over his final five games, he struggled mightily for a couple of critical weeks in March, going 0-2—2 and minus-5 in six games. The Bruins were a moribund 1-5-0 in those games, were outscored, 18-8, and ultimately lost a footrace with Philadelphia and Detroit for one of the final playoff berths in the Eastern Conference.
Krejci noted he had similar surgery six years ago and he expects the recovery time will be about the same as then: four months.
“I’m actually looking forward to getting it done in the next week or two and, you know, be the player that I can be with nothing holding me back,’’ he said.
Krejci’s need for surgery was not immediately confirmed by the club. Unlike in recent years, when Peter Chiarelli was the general manager, GM Don Sweeney did not meet with the media during breakup day. In his end-of-season news conferences, Chiarelli typically detailed all the injuries on the roster and whether players would require surgery.
Forwards Brett Connolly and Jimmy Hayes, barely seen down the stretch, both said they suffered sprained knees (MCL injuries). Patrice Bergeron noted he was contending with a sprained ankle. Defenseman Dennis Seidenberg, who didn’t play after a 2-1 loss at New Jersey on March 29, said he was sidelined by a groin injury.
“I probably would have started skating today or tomorrow,’’ he said. “Bad timing. It was a strained muscle, and it just takes time.’’
According to a club spokesperson, as of late Monday afternoon no other postseason news conferences were scheduled, be it with Sweeney, team president Cam Neely, or coach Claude Julien.
Heinen signed
The Bruins took a step in upgrading their scoring punch by signing prospect Danton Heinen, a forward who led the University of Denver this season with 48 points in 41 games.
Heinen, a 20-year-old sophomore from British Columbia, will join AHL Providence for the remainder of its season.
A fourth-round pick (No.?116 overall) by the Bruins in the 2014 draft, Heinen is 6 feet 1 inch and 185 pounds. In his two seasons with the Pioneers, he totaled 81 games and 93 points.
College prospects typically require at least one or two years of seasoning in the minor pros, but Heinen could follow a faster track, especially with a Bruins team that for years has been challenged to finish prime scoring chances. Heinen, who shoots lefthanded, led Denver in goals (20) this season and was No. 2 on the club last year with 16 goals.
Frustration evident
The overall sentiment in the Bruins locker room was funereal, as could be expected after missing the playoff cut for a second year in a row — the franchise’s first two-year drought since 2005-07.
The biggest shock for most Bruins fans was Saturday’s lack of push or desperation in a 6-1 loss to Ottawa, the Boston bench bereft of a response in the second period when the Senators reversed out of a 1-0 deficit and ultimately ran up a half-dozen goals on Garden ice.
“I think everyone’s out there trying to get a spark,’’ said winger Matt Beleskey, asked what was being said on the bench amid the meltdown. “I think we had some chances that, obviously, the puck luck wasn’t there for us. We got three quick ones against us [in the second period] and it was tough.
“It was a trend a bit this season that we would have games like that. It was unfortunate for our fans. It was at home most of the time, and they deserved better. We wanted to put a better product out there for them. I don’t think there was one reason you could say it happened . . . it’s something we need to change for next season.’’
“When times were up to fold up or respond,’’ added team captain Zdeno Chara, “we always kind of find ourselves taking steps backwards, and that was one of the things that was disappointing and frustrating.’’
Big decisions ahead
No telling how Sweeney will tailor his roster’s restricted and unrestricted free agents in the wake of the el foldo. The club’s two highest-priced UFAs are Eriksson (cap hit: $4.25 million) and John-Michael Liles ($3.875 million).
The Bruins tried to extend Eriksson’s contract prior to the Feb. 29 trade deadline, couldn’t satisfy his demands, then opted not to deal him in hopes of making the playoffs. Liles and Lee Stempniak (also UFA, $850k) were acquired as part of an attempted playoff push. The latter two, if they care to return here, would come at far more economical prices than Eriksson.
Perhaps Sweeney makes extending Brad Marchand’s deal his No. 1 priority, even though Marchand has a year remaining ($4.5 million cap hit) before he reaches UFA.
Marchand, 28, finished with a career-high 37 goals. If nothing else, the circumstances around Eriksson’s expiring contract should have created some urgency in the front office to avoid getting boxed into a similar situation with Marchand come next season’s end-of-year trade deadline. They now stand the real risk of seeing Eriksson walk away and the club left with no compensation.
Sweeney won’t want to run the same risk a year from now.
Among the restricted free agents, Torey Krug (cap hit: $3.4 million) stands to present Sweeney with the stickiest scenario.
By conventional standards, Krug could expect a new deal to bring him an average of $5 million or more per season. That’s a high ticket for a blue liner who, though blessed with skating and stick skills, presents minimal physical presence.
In desperate need of finding a top-end blue liner, one who might cost upward of $7 million or more, Sweeney might have to consider dealing Krug’s rights and fold his $3.4 million into a bona fide first- or second-pairing defenseman.
Bug floored Rask
Tuukka Rask said it was a 24-hour bug, one that messed with his gastrointestinal system, that prevented the Bruins goalie from suiting up Saturday to face the Senators.
“I spent the night in the bathroom there for 12 hours, so . . . can’t control that,’’ said Rask, noting the illness hit him suddenly Friday night.
Despite the discomfort of it all, Rask appeared briefly in the warm-up on Saturday, but returned to sick bay once Jeremy Smith arrived from Providence to back up Jonas Gustavsson.
“I knew I wasn’t going to play so I just went out there and waited for Smitty,’’ he said. “But yeah, when you’re sick, you’re sick. And trust me, if I felt like there was a chance I would’ve helped the team, I would’ve gone out there, but I couldn’t even stand up, really.’’
Kelly thankful for run
Center Chris Kelly, who missed most of the season with a broken leg, also will be an unrestricted free agent. Kelly ($3 million cap hit) is 35, but said he has not considered retirement. “There are changes every year, regardless of if you win or you don’t,’’ Kelly said. “That’s just hockey. I love being a Bruin. We’ll see what happens. I have no idea what’s going to transpire the next little bit, but regardless, like I said, I’d love to stay here, but if that’s not the case, this place has been unbelievable to me and my family. I’ve been able to win a Cup, go to the Finals, win a Presidents’ Trophy, and then not only on-ice experiences, but off-ice experiences, living in one of the best cities in the world and getting to experience that. So, it’s been extremely fun.’’ . . . The Bruins assigned four players to Providence: forwards Noel Acciari, Max Talbot, and Frank Vatrano, and defenseman Colin Miller.
Globe correspondent Barbara Matson contributed to this report. Kevin Paul Dupont can be reached at kevin.dupont@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeKPD.
