The National Hockey League has come to a grinding halt and with no start, or restart, to the season in sight there are many who are starting to wonder about what could happen with this year's crop of free agents. The expectation is that the salary cap for the 2020 - 2021 NHL regular season could remain stagnant as a result of the season shut down and that could mean difficulties for many teams when it comes to signing some of the league's premier free agents.
One of the top options on the market this summer was expected to be Boston Bruins blue liner Torey Krug, a key component of the Bruins offense that has seemingly been in contract limbo for the better part of 2 seasons now. Krug has often been linked to trade rumors, although the Bruins have obviously never pulled the trigger on any of those rumored deals, but there has been a long held belief that his game would be near impossible for the Bruins to replace internally. Krug is one of the NHL's premier offensive defensemen and although he excels in the regular season he has shown an ability to take his game to an extra level in the playoffs, making him an extremely sought after commodity indeed.
Regardless of what the NHL does about the currently suspended season Krug's contract will expire at the end of it and he will have to make a choice regarding his future. Here are the 3 destinations we think are likely to be the most enticing options for Kurg, while also being realistic options given the current climate in the NHL.
#1 The Boston Bruins.
The least sexy of the teams on this list and we will be getting them out of the way right away. As I stated above it would be extremely difficult for the Bruins to replace Krug and given that they have thus far refused to trade him makes me think that they intend to try and keep him. Several members of the Bruins roster have taken significant hometown discounts to remain on that roster and no doubt the Bruins will point to that in negotiations with Krug, hoping to get him at a reasonable number that they can afford moving forward. The biggest roadblock here may be the term, Krug could be looking at a long term deal on the open market and I suspect the Bruins would be averse to giving him anything beyond the 4 - 5 year mark in regards to term.
#2 The Montreal Canadiens.
Wouldn't this be a story? The Canadiens have a ton of cap space and are in prime position to do some real damage during the offseason given what is expected to happen with the NHL salary cap. Making a substantial offer to one of the core players on a bitter rival's roster would not only go over extremely well with the Habs fan base, but it would also fill a need for the Canadiens on their rather lackluster blue line.
#3 The Detroit Red Wings.
Another team with a ton of salary cap space to make some moves and one with a new general manager in Steve Yzerman that has yet to really make his mark on the organization as an executive. Krug is a native of Livonia, Michigan and no doubt grew up watching the Red Wings play, although the current state of the Red Wings likely won't inspire him very much. Yzerman may struggle to sell Krug on coming to one of the worst teams in NHL history, but a long term offer with a significant price tag attached to it could be enough to convince Krug to come home.
