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The Boston Bruins may have a pretty busy offseason. Tuukka Rask’s departure has made waves and some believe her days are numbered in Boston in a goaltending market that is likely to be very fluid this summer.
Rask will not be Boston’s priority file, however. It will probably be Torey Krug (or his replacement) instead since the defender will be an unrestricted free agent. Behind Pietrangelo, he will probably be the most in-demand defenseman, which means he stands to receive a decent pay raise on the $ 5m he earned this year.
It’s going to make a contract extension with the Bruins more complicated because Boston doesn’t have a ton of wiggle room under the salary cap. Speaking to the media on Thursday morning, one cannot say that Torey Krug gave fans enormous reassurance.
He revealed that his contract talks with Boston have been minimal so far. He also recalled that for him, this is his chance to check out and that he should make the most of it. The 29-year-old defenseman also ruled out the possibility of signing a one-year contract, which could have made Boston’s decision easier.
Anyway, the door isn’t closed, but it didn’t sound like a guy willing to give his club a big discount. He knows this is his last chance to initial a big contract and considering the current financial climate, it is quite possible that he is already getting a lower contract than he would have anticipated before the pandemic.
This season, Torey Krug finished eighth among NHL defensemen with 49 points in 61 games. In the playoffs, he’s been the second-most-used defenseman behind Charlie McAvoy, so he’s certainly not going to be an easy player to replace.
Chara is a little more optimistic
Zdeno Chara is going to be the other big question mark for the Bruins. At 43, it’s questionable whether the giant-format defender will finally retire. At the same media availability, however, Chara was more optimistic than Krug in saying he wanted to stay in Boston and wanted to be a member of the Bruins.
