Boston Bruins: What are the options with Torey Krug?

After a disappointing end to their season, the Boston Bruins must now turn their attention towards the offseason. With a few key players in need of new contracts, the team is now forced to make a decision on Torey Krug’s future with the franchise.

Torey Krug first joined the Boston Bruins during their 2013 Stanley Cup play-off run and provided an immediate impact. Krug scored four times in his first five NHL games and became an important player in the team’s Stanley Cup Final appearance. Unfortunately for him, he is the only guy on the roster with two Boston Bruins’ Stanley Cup Final losses to his name that doesn’t have a ring from 2011.

Torey Krug has become a mainstay on the blue-line for the Boston Bruins, scoring 288 points in 462 regular season games and adding another 46 points in 62 career playoff games.

Despite what Krug has accomplished during his time in Boston, many are speculating that the team may be forced to move on from the 28-year-old defenseman in order to maintain the future of the team. Krug is still under contract for the 2019-20 season with a cap hit of $5.25 million and has a modified no-trade clause. Despite that, the Bruins are faced with a tough decision this summer about what to do moving forward.

You can expect that Torey Krug will want to be paid and paid very nicely. Obviously he’s not quite at the $11 million Erik Karlsson end of the market, but defensemen always seem to get nice paydays at renewal time!

Option 2: Sign Krug to an extension

Even though there is still a year remaining on his current deal, signing Torey Krug to an extension this off-season creates some stability for the future. There’s always a risk that the Krug could demand a big contract on the open market, something that the Boston Bruins would likely be unable to afford to match.

If the Bruins were to agree on a new contract with Krug, that deal would kick in for the 2020-21 season; it’s already looking like next summer will be another busy summer for the Boston Bruins as the contracts of numerous players including Jake Debrusk, Charlie Coyle, Matt Grzelcyk and Jaroslav Halak are set to expire.

While that may seem a bit chaotic, there is some good news. The 2019-20 season is also the last one where the Bruins are stuck paying the retained salary on Matt Belesky‘s contract and Dennis Seidenberg‘s buyout. With both of those contracts off the books, it frees up just over $3 million that the Bruins can put towards new contracts.

If the Bruins see Torey Krug as a part of their future, they would be wise to lock him up before other teams have the chance to drive up his asking price. In the end, it all comes down to whether or not Krug wants to be in Boston. We’ve seen star players take contracts below market value in order to stay in Boston long-term and to make it all work it’s likely that Krug would need to do the same.

It’s tough to estimate what Krug’s next contract would look like; the best comparable may well be the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Jake Gardiner when he hits unrestricted free agency, although Krug has managed to survive a few more Game 7’s than him!

Krug has been one of the highest scorers on the Bruins during his time with the team, and his offensive production would not be easily replaced should Krug end up on a new team anytime soon.

Option 3: Trade Krug

After the Game 7 loss, there was plenty of speculation that Torey Krug had played his last game as a member of the Boston Bruins. While general manager Don Sweeney acknowledged that the Bruins have to look at all available possibilities, he also said that it would take a pretty significant offer for the Bruins to include Krug in a trade.

However, there are a few reasons why the Bruins could afford to shake up their blue line. First and foremost, trading Krug frees up some valuable cap space for the Bruins. The team has its own free agents that they need to sign, but having a bit more flexibility with the salary cap would allow them to explore their options for a new second-line winger this summer or later on at the trade deadline.

Second, the Bruins can afford to move on from Krug because of the group of left-handed defensemen they have waiting in the system, namely Urho Vaakanainen and Jakub Zboril. With McAvoy showing that he is capable of playing in just about every situation, including the power play, it seems as though the pieces are there for the Bruins to move forward without Krug.

Finally, the Krug’s value is at a peak right now. If the Bruins were to trade the puck-moving defenseman, it makes sense that this summer would be the time to do it. The Bruins have holes in the lineup that were very evident during the playoffs.

Would the Boston Bruins be able to get their coveted second line winger in a trade involving Torey Krug? If so, it’s definitely something that Sweeney and the Bruins need to consider.

What do you think the Bruins should do with Krug moving forward?