Torey Krug, Reilly Smith agree to discount deals with Bruins
The strongest hockey-related thing in Boston isn’t Milan Lucic or Zdeno Chara. It’s the salary cap ceiling.
How else to explain the humbling of defenseman Torey Krug and forward Reilly Smith in their restricted free agent contract decision with the Boston Bruins? Krug wanted somewhere between $1.5-2.5 million on a short-term deal. Smith had 51 points in 82 games, and was angling for a healthy raise as well.
On Monday, the Bruins announced they both signed 1-year, $1.4-million contracts.
That sound you just heard was Peter Chiarelli actually snapping a limb in the arm wrestling match with his young players.
Smith was positioned to get slightly more than that, considering his output last season. Jaden Schwartz just received a $2.35 million AAV contract with the St. Louis Blues, for comparison’s sake.
But it’s Krug that might be skating with a rubber ducky right now, considering the bath he just took.
Add up the bonus money, and his rookie contract was worth $1.704 million annually. So not only is Krug taking less than that, Krug is taking less than his reported contract demand to the Bruins.
Evidently, KHL threat money ain’t worth what it used to be…
Look, the objective here was to get these guys in as soon as possible, without blowing up the cap for this season. The Bruins are win-now. Yes, both will be RFAs next season and, yes, they’re going to have more leverage with arbitration rights. But this could be the last ride for this gang anyway, with Carl Soderberg, Gregory Campbell, Johnny Boychuk and Adam McQuaid all going unrestricted and now having Smith and Krug up as RFAs along with Dougie Hamilton.
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It’s worth the extra headaches next summer if it means this roster can remain intact for a run this season. Kick the can for later, try to win the Cup now.
