Boston Bruins: Would it be risky to pursue an early deal with Torey Krug?

The Boston Bruins have plenty of contractual work to get done on their back-end, before even thinking about Torey Krug. Would they be wise to go early on a new deal for him?

A league source recently, speaking with Boston Hockey Now, poured cold water on any trade rumours surrounding the Boston Bruins defensemen, headed into his final term of a four-year contract. Torey Krug himself, has stated in the past, he wanted to remain with the Bruins for life.

The notion of signing Torey Krug to a new deal isn’t really much of a question. The Boston Bruins will no doubt seek to get it done; though the Jacob Trouba contract with the New York Rangers certainly hasn’t helped do much aside from inflate the market.

Question is; do you hedge your bets now and offer a contract on July 1st that reflects his past form; three consecutive seasons of fifty points plus. That statistic also overlooks the fact that this past season, he was almost a point-per-game player, appearing in 64 regular season games and collecting 53 points – that averages to 0.83 points per game.

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Given that Jacob Trouba, with just one season upwards of fifty points, costs $8 million a season on a seven-year deal; the figures for a Torey Krug contract make your eyes water. Negotiating early could actually save money in the long-run.

A fourth consecutive fifty point year or a scarier thought, contractually at least; a year where he manages that same point pace over 82 games, that means he suddenly has a near seventy-point season to also add to his pile.

First up, he has to be willing to negotiate and not hedge his bets on earning even more. To achieve that, the Boston Bruins essentially have to offer a full seven or eight-year term. That secures Torey Krug until he’s 36 years-old; probably not ideal especially as he doesn’t shy away from the physicality of the game.

Equally, offering that sort of term, he needs to be willing to take a little bit of a discount much as other Boston Bruins players have in previous years. This is where the player would truly be tested on his wanting to stay for life.

Perhaps the biggest risk of signing a deal too early doesn’t actually pertain to Torey Krug himself, at least not directly.

Signing a deal early would mean that other teams can make pretty decent approximations on the Boston Bruins cap space for the foreseeable future. That, in turn, gives them the chance to force Don Sweeney‘s hand in any trades.

If I’m a rival General Manager and I know that the team I’d dealing with may only have pennies free the next season, I’m not about to do them any favours without a significant sweetener to any deal. That, to me, is the biggest risk to tying Torey Krug up early.