Boston Bruins: Trading Torey Krug would be foolish

The unsuccessful Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final has sunk in. The Boston Bruins have already started to think about the future; draft, free agency, contract renewals and also the potential trade scenarios. Some of them would help the Bruins, even though they would be tough to swallow, but others, like dealing Torey Krug should be definite non-starters.

With the off-season is finally here, it would not have been without the proposal of trading Torey Krug. The Boston Bruins, based on some fans indications, should trade Torey Krug to get heavier, stronger, because he is a defensive liability and the Bruins would get a nice second-line right-winger in return. According to these ‘reasons’, it seems so ‘reasonable’ trading Torey Krug.

But it’s not, indeed. In his last season, Torey Krug, an un-drafted defenseman, had six goals and 47 assists for 53 points in 64 games. He averaged 21:18 of the time on the ice and had a Corsi For% of 54.9 combined with the offensive zone starts at 66.6%. That all came after a 59-point career season in the 2017-2018 campaign.

That time, Torey Krug collected that amount of points but in 76 games; 12 games more than the previous regular season. In fact, if Krug played a full 82-game season, he would definitely come close to the 70-point mark.

For a defenseman, that’s a crazy number. In the playoffs, where he played in all 24 games, Torey Krug winded up with two goals and 16 assists for 18 points. He averaged 22:21 of the ice-time. Krug has never averaged such ice-time in any given regular season or the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The Boston Bruins Head Coach Bruce Cassidy does trust his defenseman. Mainly in the playoffs, Krug’s name was brought on the table in a Conn Smythe Trophy discussion. He was a presence on and off the ice, offensively spectacular and defensively steady, not shying away of throwing his body around.

Krug has worked himself from an un-drafted player to one of the League’s finest. On the other note, he acknowledges, that nobody can do his job in Boston. Indeed, he loves playing in the Bruins uniform and wants to be there forever.

The biggest priority for the Bruins headed to the 2020’s off-season should not be trading Torey Krug, but to lock him up.

Currently, Krug is just finishing his $5,25 million deal for one more season. In that time, he will be 29-year-old (something equivalent to the present age of Erik Karlsson). Torey Krug will definitely demand some sort of money, but if the Boston Bruins can sign him long-term, it shouldn’t be more than $8 million per season.

If that’s the case, the Bruins have to make their priorities straight.

Trading Torey Krug and hope for a good return and avoid an expansion draft? No, lock up Torey Krug and protect him in the expansion draft. The Bruins power play is one of the best, if not the best, in the NHL. To have such an elite skater, a puck-mover power-play quarterback as Torey Krug, that’s a luxury.

Plus there is a sense that Krug is not going to pin this organization down with his demands, they signed him as an un-drafted defenseman seven years ago. They gave him the opportunity back then, he will deliver his part of the sportsmanship now.

Heading towards the future, with so many players need to be re-signed by the Bruins, it’s the best time to talk about the preferences and what the Boston Bruins want to achieve. Torey Krug has done merits to be the part of it.