Posted by Dominic Tiano

No, we’re not talking about the 1970 hit by Elvis Presley. We’re talking about Boston Bruins defenceman Torey Krug, otherwise known to hockey diehards as TK47.

Sports, like the rest of the world, is in a period like we’ve never seen before because of the COVID-19 Pandemic. The NHL is facing question after question about how they are going to return to the days that saw record revenues for the league and record salaries for the players.

Luckily, the NHL and the Players Association have reached an agreement on a new CBA that will ensure financial stability for the next six years. Krug is set to become an unrestricted free agent once the Stanley Cup is awarded, and for him and others on expiring contracts, everyone is wondering what kind of deal he could get from the Bruins or the open market because of the flat cap negotiated by the league and the players.

There is a growing theme on social media, and that is: TK47 has taken team friendly deals in the past and now is the time to get paid.

Well, that is not entirely true, although it would appear that way.

TK47 signed his first NHL contract on March 25, 2012 for the maximum allowable under the CBA. Furthermore, he had the ability to attain over $2.3 million in performance bonuses over the three-year life of the contract. While it’s almost common practice nowadays with NCAA free agents, TK47 was one of the first to be allowed to “burn a year” off his deal.  That is the price the Bruins had to pay to get TK47 to put pen to paper, but it’s certainly not team friendly.

TK47 signed his second deal on October 5, 2014. At the time, the Bruins were having cap issues and Krug signed a one-year deal for $900,000 in base salary with a half-million dollar signing bonus for a cap hit of $1.4 million. But was it a team friendly deal or market value?

At that point TK47 had played in 82 games and recording 42 points. He was paid more then other defencemen that signed deals that summer such as: David Savard ($1.3 million, 105 GP, 25 pts), Sami Vatanen ($1.262 million, 56 GP, 23 pts), Mattias Ekholm ($1.037 million, 65 GP, 9 pts). The major difference between TK47 and these three is that Krug’s deal was for one year while theirs was for two, allowing Krug to reach a bigger payday one year prior to them.

The 2014 offseason saw Krug sign the fifth highest deal among defencemen in his age group of the over 25 defenders to sign deals.

Krug’s current deal was signed on June 30, 2016 and was a 4-year deal with an AAV of $5.25 million. Does that seem undervalued today? Sure. Was it when he signed and was it team friendly? You be the judge. As of today, Krug has appeared in 241 NHL games with 125 points.

That same summer, Hampus Lindholm (236 GP, 92 pts) signed for the same AAV, but for 6 years. Tyson Barrie (264 GP 153 pts) signed for the same 4 years at 250K more. Vatanen (194 GP, 98 pts) signed for 4 years as well at 400K less then Krug. Seth Jones (240 GP, 83 pts) signed for 6 years and a $5.4 AAV.

It would appear that Krug is paid on par with some of the other defenders when he signs his deals, and in most cases, his contract expires earlier allowing him for a bigger deal before the others. Can we really consider them team friendly deals that he has signed to date?

Sure, there are contracts out there that are bigger, but some of them are deemed mistakes. Hello P.K. Subban? Was Subban ever a $9 million a year defenceman? Sure. Is he one today? Probably not. But both NHL General Managers and yes, even agents, overlook those deals that are above market value.

So, what is TK47’s worth? Good question.

Is he worth more than Josh Morrisey, who signed for an AAV of $6.25 million in 2019? Yes. Is he worth more then the $8 million AAV given to Jacob Trouba or more then the $8 million per year Thomas Chabot receives after signing his deal a year ago? You could make an argument in both cases, but the difference is Krug will be on the wrong side of 30 in the first year of his next deal while those three are 25 and under.

According to CapFriendly, the Bruins have $16,359,409 in cap space for next season (barring any bonus overages still yet to be determined) and with Anders Bjork signing his new deal for three years have Jake DeBrusk, Zdeno Chara Matt Grzelcyk and Joakim Nordstrom [I don’t expect an extension here] remaining to be signed and a full roster.

Is $16 million enough to ink the four, including Krug? It certainly is.

I don’t believe this is going to come down to dollars, but term and I have made no secret about it for several months. TK47 probably wants this to be his last contract and wants term at close to market value. At the same time, I would think the Bruins are not interested in a 7-year deal at which time Krug will be 36 going on 37 in the final year. You have to also believe that there is a GM out there that is willing to throw out a 7-year deal without thinking. We’ve seen it too many times in the NHL and they can’t save themselves from themselves.

Will the Bruins and Krug be able to find a middle ground? As mentioned earlier, this is a different world and there are new negotiating tactics both sides could use. One of those tactics is backloading deals. (we are all to familiar with front-loaded deals). Because of the limits placed on escrow in the new CBA, it benefits the player to be paid more in the latter years of his deal then at the beginning because they pay less in escrow – meaning more money in their pockets. And the Bruins could use that tactic to entice TK47.

There is a lot of speculating out there but the truth is only the Bruins and Krug know how this is going to end. The only thing we know for certain is that Krug is on a mission to win a Stanley Cup after two failed Final series appearances.

Torey Krug should do what he believes is best for he and his family and no ill-will should be held against him if he chooses to move on. He’s bled black and gold through 7 full seasons with the Bruins and he has earned the right to do what he thinks is best. We should be thankful we had the opportunity to watch him pull on the Bruins jersey and every last fan should wish him nothing but the best if he moves on (except against the Bruins of course).

If he chooses to stay, then viva Torey Krug!