All eyes in the hockey world were on John Tavares ahead of July 1 and, while many enjoyed seeing a star player test the waters of free agency, Boston Bruins centre David Krejci was not among them.

The Bruins were one of six teams to meet with Tavares ahead of the free agency window opening on Canada Day, but Krejci said he was left in the dark about the team's pursuit of the centre.

“I had no idea what was going on. My agent didn’t tell my [anything] because he said he didn’t know anything. I didn’t get any phone calls from anyone from the Bruins,” Krejci told NBC Sports Boston. “So I was just getting those Instagam messages [telling me to request a trade] in my inbox. I know that I have a no-trade so they would have to call me [if they did end up signing Tavares].

“Yeah, that wasn’t kind of something I enjoyed. But it was over pretty quick. It was a quick couple of weeks. It is what it is.”

Tavares, of course, signed with the Bruins' Atlantic Division rival Toronto Maple Leafs on a seven-year, $77 million contract, electing to play for his hometown team.

Krejci, the Bruins second line centre, had 17 goals and 44 points in 64 games last season. He's failed to hit the 70-point mark since the 2008-09 season, while Tavares has done it in three of the past four seasons.

“I understand that it’s the hockey business that you have to do whatever you have to do to make the hockey team better,” Krejci said. “Obviously I don’t want to go anywhere. But [general manager Don Sweeney] has got to do what he’s got to do. [Hockey is a business] is what I’ve learned over the years. I love being here and I’ve got three years left, so for me it was just about getting ready to be the best player I can be.

"I’m still young and I feel like I still have some of my best years in front of me. Maybe not 70 or 80 points production-wise, but maybe more of a complete player and helping out the young guys grow.”

Krejci is the Bruins' highest paid player, carrying a cap hit of $7.25 million through the 2020-21 season on the deal he signed in 2014. The Bruins have just $2.96 million in cap space left for this season and many fans believed Krejci would have to be moved to fit Tavares in the fold. Some of them even decided to try to convince the 32-year-old to force his own way out.

"I tried to stay away as much as I can from everything [during the Tavares sweepstakes], but you can’t. I was actually getting some not-very-nice messages on Instagram to ask for a trade, so you know they could get Tavares,” said Krejci. “Some people were asking me in a nice way, and some weren’t asking me in a very nice way.

“I have a lot of fans, which is great. I think it’s a common thing where people say ‘Awesome, awesome…great job’ and you appreciate it. But if there’s a bad comment it sticks in your head. So that wasn’t nice.”

The Bruins were largely silent on the free agent market this summer after missing out of Tavares and Ilya Kovalchuk, and losing Rick Nash as he continues to weigh his future. The team added defenceman John Moore and backup goaltender Jaroslav Halak, but will rely on their same forward group from last season (minus Nash) this year. 

The Bruins will open their preseason in China next Saturday and begin their regular season on Oct. 3 against the Washington Capitals.