You’ve no doubt all heard about the Mookie Betts trade by now; would trading Torey Krug draw the same ire among the Boston Bruins fanbase?
Of course, there is plenty to read into the Mookie Betts trade; namely the saving of money by the Boston Red Sox. Would the Boston Bruins seek to save money by not renewing Torey Krug and shipping him out while his price is high?
There are clear differences between Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League, of course, namely the lack of a salary cap, or at least not one as harsh as the NHL one.
Fact is though; Torey Krug is likely going to seek a payday, even if he does take a discount to stay with the Boston Bruins. This will obviously impact all other deals being signed this summer.
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Among the Boston Bruins’ expiring contracts are backup goalie Jaroslav Halak, top-six winger Jake DeBrusk and young defenseman Matt Grzelcyk while the ever-youthful Zdeno Chara will also likely seek another one-year renewal.
Add in Karson Kuhlman, Anders Bjork, Joakim Nordstrom and Jeremy Lauzon among those seeing regular NHL action of late and it’s quite a group of contract renewals that need to occur without much big money coming off the team’s cap hit.
The $3 million saving that can will be made from Matt Beleskey‘s retained salary and the Dennis Seidenberg buy-out will likely all go to paying Jake DeBrusk. Kevan Miller‘s expiring deal pays for pay rises for Lauzon, Bjork and Kuhlman in all likelihood and the Boston Bruins are no closer to affording Torey Krug.
This is where dealing him to the highest bidder as we near the trade deadline could prove an incredibly smart tactic, even if it were to be viewed with similar negativity to the Betts’ deal.
With career NHL stats of 325 points in 507 games as a defenseman that can do an amazing job quarter-backing a power-play, it’s safe to expect there would be no shortage of bidders.
Where this deal would prove foolish though is the lack of a clear-cut ready-to-go replacement. Matt Grzelyck is repeatedly touted as the future power-play go-to guy for the Boston Bruins, if they’d give him the chance. Is he ready to take that next step up is the question I’d be asking?
All of these possibilities hinge on how high the payday that Torey Krug expects is. If he’s willing to go below his market value, even slightly; it’s a no-brainer and dealing him (if he went to another team for the same rate) would be Betts-level foolish on the team’s part.
If however, his camp is asking for far too much, maybe trading him isn’t so bad. Better not to be handicapped by a burdensome cap hit, especially if he starts regressing when he enters his thirties.
The Boston Bruins will no doubt have tested the waters to know what offers might be out there, equally they’ll have planned the maximum price they can afford to spend on Torey Krug. If neither a trade nor a new deal end up happening, he’s simply an in-house rental this play-off season and there’s nothing wrong with that.
The Boston Bruins aren’t able to trade him for the same reasons as the Mookie Betts transaction; that’s not the way the NHL salary cap works. Though, if you ask the Ottawa Senators, maybe it is, at least a little!