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First off, sorry for the lack of blogs in the past week. I have a newborn at home and adjusting to the new normal has been a bit tough…. We’ll get there.
Not much has happened in the land of Boston hockey over the last week as we quickly approach the—hopeful—start of camp on July 13 and the—hopeful—return of game action on August 1.
I just want to quickly discuss the next contracts for both Torey Krug and Jake DeBrusk
Can the Bruins resign Torey Krug?
Thanks to COVID-19, and the early ending of the regular season, the NHL salary cap will stay flat at $81.5 million in each of the next two seasons.
So what does that mean for Torey Krug staying in Boston?
Well, it’s not going to help.
The Bruins top offensive defenseman is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the conclusion of the 2019-20 season, and will be one of the most targeted defensemen on the market.
Krug has hinted towards a “home town discount” in the past, but how much of a discount is the 29-year old willing to take, and exactly what the Bruins can afford to offer remains to be seen.
With the shutdown of the league in March, and not knowing 100% what is ahead despite how confident the league is in their return-to-play plan, projecting what type of future contracts are ahead is no easy task.
Along with Krug, the Bruins have Anders Bjork, (RFA) Jake DeBrusk, (RFA) Zdeno Chara (UFA) and Matt Grzelcyk (RFA) to sign this offseason. Joakim Nordstrom and Kevan Miller are also UFA’s.
The Bruins are projected to have just under $18M in cap space entering 2020-21.
Since Krug’s first full season in 2013-14, only Brent Burns, Erik Karlsson, Victor Hedman, John Carlson, Roman Josi and Keith Yandle have more points as a defenseman than Krug’s 335.
Krug has developed into one of the game’s better power play quarterbacks, leading the league with 28 power play points in 2019-20.
With rumors out of Detroit—Krug is from Michigan—that the Red Wings may be prepared to offer Krug a juicy contract, the Bruins will have to get creative if they plan on having Krug in the mix for years to come.
What does Jake DeBrusk’s next contract look like?
I’m a big fan of DeBrusk, and have been since his 43-point rookie season in 2017-18. With his entry level contract set to expire after the 2019-20 season, DeBrusk’s next contract should be an interesting one.
DeBrusk followed his rookie season with a 42-point performance in 2018-19 and had 35 points in 65 games before the 2019-20 season was prematurely ended.
In his 203 career NHL games, DeBrusk has been as streaky as they come with goals often coming in bunches, and lengthy scoring droughts coming between the streaks.
Joining NBC Sports Boston’s Joe Haggerty on a zoom conference last week, Edmonton Oiler’s radio analyst Bob Stauffer discussed what DeBrusk could fetch in his next contract.
“I think Jake is a really good top-6 forward, top-6 winger. You guys saw him against the [Maple Leafs] and the Blues in the playoffs, he’s got a little bit of gamesmanship to him,” said Stauffer.
“To me, I think Jake is a $5.5-6 million player. Maybe that money comes down a bit because of the cap. I think he’s a $6 million forward. He’s a guy that’s going to be capable of scoring 25-30 goals in a full season. That’s a $6 million forward to me.”
Given the Bruins cap situation, who and what they need to sign, the cap staying flat, and DeBrusk’s inconsistencies at times, I don’t see the Bruins giving DeBrusk $6 million a season.
Personally, I see DeBrusk being more in the $4-$5 million range, with a shorter term, setting DeBrusk up for a pretty payday and a big contract in a few years, should DeBrusk hit his potential, something I think he does.
Boston Bruins Blogger • 
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