Causeway Crowd
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Boston Bruins: Why is it vital to extend Torey Krug beyond this year?

By Raymond Crane

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - MAY 27: Torey Krug #47 of the Boston Bruins checks Robert Thomas #18 of the St. Louis Blues during the third period in Game One of the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Final at TD Garden on May 27, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - MAY 27: Torey Krug #47 of the Boston Bruins checks Robert Thomas #18 of the St. Louis Blues during the third period in Game One of the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Final at TD Garden on May 27, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /
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DALLAS, TX - OCTOBER 3: Torey Krug #47 of the Boston Bruins skates against the Dallas Stars at the American Airlines Center on October 3, 2019 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Glenn James/NHLI via Getty Images)
DALLAS, TX – OCTOBER 3: Torey Krug #47 of the Boston Bruins skates against the Dallas Stars at the American Airlines Center on October 3, 2019 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Glenn James/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Torey Krug is due a new contract this summer with the Boston Bruins; and they should sign him to one – he’s a vital part in their bid for success.

I’ve never been one to ease into things, so when I found out that I was a new Contributor for Causeway Crowd, I wanted nothing more than my first article to be an absolute banger. So, what better way to lean into one than to write an article about the player who delivered perhaps the biggest Stanley Cup Finals hit in Boston Bruins history, Torey Krug.

A Boston Bruins fan is blue-collar, passionate, and the take nothing from nobody type of fan. We expect skill, toughness, a winning mentality, and of course a team full of players who want to be in the city of champions. So, what has confused me more than anything else since the beginning of the summer? How about the number of fans who have voiced the apparent Bruins’ need to trade Torey Krug before his contract ends in 2020.

Krug, who is 28 years old and playing out the final year of his four-year, $21,000,000 contract ($5,250,000 annual cap hit) is a top pair defenseman for the B’s and is a cornerstone piece to the success of the Bruins powerplay unit.

I’ve heard so many people this summer describe Krug as a defensive liability that it has made me question if I followed the Bruins d-core closely enough or if I had some sort of distorted opinion of Krug’s contribution to this team. Gladly, I can confirm that this is not the case.

Since 2013, Krug has a +/- +29 rating in 462 regular season games. Unfortunately, I know what you Krug-opposing, recency biased readers are thinking, “Ray, tell us the stats in the last year. Who cares about 2013?”.

Well last year, Krug played to a near league average +/- of -2, which ranked him 85th out of 141 eligible defensemen to play at least 60 regular season games. Now for a guy to whom people complain is a defensive liability, a relatively average -2 rating is something I’ll take any day over Zach Werenski (-12), Shayne Gostisbehere (-20), or Rasmus Ristolainen (-41).

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