Defenseman Torey Krug is officially on the move.
The 29-year-old Michigan State product has reached an agreement with the St. Louis Blues on a seven-year, $45.5 million contract that will pay him an average of $6.5M per year. In 61 games for the Bruins last season, Krug had nine goals and 40 assists, 26 of which came with the man advantage. He added another six assists during the Bruins 13 game, playoff run.
Krug is 7x$6.5M
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) October 10, 2020
Krug burst onto the scene during the Bruins Stanley Cup Final run in 2013 as he appeared in 15 games after having just three NHL games under his belt over his first two regular seasons in the NHL. He had four goals and six points total that postseason. He became a mainstay on the Bruins blueline ever since. Now, he will join the team that defeated the Bruins in his second Stanley Cup Final appearance just over a year ago.
Speaking of the Blues, they still have the question of whether or not captain Alex Pietrangelo will return. The unrestricted free agent has been negotiating with the team but to this point, there hasn’t been much progress in that matter. After adding Krug, the Blues have just over $500k in cap space available. Ideally, the Blues would like to add Krug to the defensive core that includes Pietrangelo, however, this could ultimately be a signing that replaces his presence on the blue line.
BOS GM Don Sweeney delayed his media availability today. We will see what’s up, because Bruins did not make an offer to Krug and indicated that it’s previous offer (6x$6.6) was no longer on the table. Bruins must have something else going on.
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) October 10, 2020
For the Bruins, well, this shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise. The sense was that the team and the player were not going to be able to find a number that worked for both of them. Ultimately, it was the extra year, not the AAV that got it done for Krug. Now, the Bruins will turn their attention to other questions they have this offseason.
