Rumblings of a surprise return for the Bruins ahead of the trade deadline.

If you've been paying any attention to the rumor mill around the National Hockey League as of late you're probably aware of the fact that the Boston Bruins could end up being one of the busiest teams in the league ahead of the NHL's trade deadline on Monday. The Bruins have been linked to several potential trades around the league involving players at nearly every position imaginable, but as a result of all the noise there is one rumor that has seemingly flown under the radar.

Recently NHL insider Elliotte Friedman discussed the possibility of a surprise return for the Bruins ahead of the NHL trade deadline, one that I don't think anyone would have predicted at the start of the regular season.

"Now I've asked about David Krejci," said Friedman on the most recent episode of his 32 Thoughts Podcast. "His season ended in the Czech league the other day, could he come back? So far I don't really have a clear answer on it and he's gotta clear waivers, so that's a tricky one too."

The Bruins already had one former Bruin return earlier this season in the form of veteran goaltender Tuukka Rask and that one didn't really play out so well. Rask's return was cut very short and I do wonder about whether or not that could sour the Bruins on the possibility of bringing in another former player to bolster their lineup ahead of the playoffs. That being said Krejci had a very good season in the Czech League with Olomouc HC, recording 20 goals and 26 assists for 46 points over 51 games with that franchise.

Bringing the 35 year old centerman back into the fold could prove difficult for the Bruins however with talk that some teams could deliberately attempt to make it especially hard for them to do so, including a bitter rival in the form of the Montreal Canadiens.

"Someone asked me, could say Arizona or Montreal pick him up on waivers and then trade him to Boston?" said Friedman. "Everybody is all over this situation watching for any kind of circumvention to block it. I love these creative ideas but I've already had teams saying there's no way that's going to be allowed to happen."

Adding Krejci, assuming he's still in good form, would be a big addition for the Bruins as they head into the Stanley Cup playoffs. Whether or not they will be able to pull it off however may be another matter entirely.