David Krejci Takes a Shot at Gary Bettman

It’s not terribly hard to find NHL players willing to go on the record with less-than-flattering quotes about commissioner Gary Bettman.

Players like Shawn Horcoff, Jonathan Toews, Danny Briere, Martin Havlat, Vinny Prospal, Zach Parise, Martin St. Louis and Teemu Selanne have each put in their two cents about the man who runs the show–or, in this case, the NHL’s third work stoppage since 1994–and none of them have said very glowing things about him.

David Krejci of the Boston Bruins is the next player to take a shot at Bettman. He did so in his native Czech to a Czech-language news outlet, so his quote has been run through Google Translate and as such, it might sound a little clumsy in English. The sentiment is still there, though.

“We want to play, we’re the ones who are doing the show in the NHL, but Bettman thinks it makes him. It is unfortunate that the NHL have such a guy. It’s a shame for the entire hockey world. Treats us like animals,” he said to iSport.cz.

(See what I mean about some of the sentences coming out a little clumsy?)

It’s interesting to see a Bruin go on the record with unflattering comments about Bettman not only because it strengthens the players’ narrative of being displeased with the guys who make the big decisions, but because Krejci plays for the Bruins.

It’s well-known that Boston owner Jeremy Jacobs is one of the big guys on the owners’ side of these negotiations. He is often one of the only owners to meet with players–he was there last week along with the owners of the Philadelphia Flyers, Minnesota Wild and Washington Capitals–and is one of Bettman’s allies.

Plus, to my personal knowledge, Krejci is the first Bruin to go on the record with comments this caustic. While some of his teammates may have come forward with showing general displeasure about the lockout and hoping for its speedy resolution, no one else who would normally wear the Spoked B has been this straightforward or named names like this–again, to my personal knowledge.

Until the lockout ends, Krejci will continue to play for HC Pardubice in the Czech Republic.