Boston Bruins: It’s time to move on from Torey Krug

The little guys

Looking at the defense corps as it stands now, two themes emerge: undersized left-handers, and bottom pairing right-handers. This piece stands to discuss the small men – Torey Krug and Matt Grzelcyk.

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Krug is coming off a season that saw him log 20:24 average time on ice (TOI,) and accrued 59 points – 14 goals and 45 assists – landing in a tie for eighth in points among defensemen. Of those 59 points, 24 came on the power play, averaging 3:26 TOI a game on the man-advantage. After all, his elite offensive abilities, paired with his standing as the quarterback of the powerplay are what earned him his four-year, $21 million extension.

Grzelcyk, however, had a fine rookie year. He accrued 15 points in 61 games, and logged time on the second power play unit. Unlike his colleague Krug, he showed a knack for playing in his own zone and Head Coach Bruce Cassidy awarded him with 16:44 average TOI – even after the team acquired Nick Holden from the Rangers. The Charlestown native is entering Restricted Free Agency and qualifies for arbitration. Regardless of the outcome of Grzelcyk’s contract negotiations, he will stand to make far less money than Krug’s $5.25M cap hit.