David Krejci, who earlier this week signed a three-year deal with the Bruins worth $3.75 million per season, today underwent surgery at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York to remove what GM Peter Chiarelli referred to as an impingement in one of his hips.

According to Chiarelli, reached by phone in his Causeway St. office, surgeons successfully removed the the burr-like impingement via arthroscopy.

''In the old days, it would have been a far more major, invasive operation,'' noted Chiarelli. ''But they were able to noodle the scope into the joint and knock out the impingement fairly easily.''

Nonetheless, reiterated Chiarelli, Krejci will need at least four months for surrounding cartilage to repair itself for the 23-year-old pivot to return to the lineup. It is possible that he will miss the first few weeks of the regular season.

''It takes a long time to recover,'' said Chiarelli, informed by doctors that the impingement caused only limited damage to the layer of of cartilage that lines and cushions the hip joint. ''But in the old days, it would have been at least twice as long.