Former Bruins Star Named Buyout Candidate
Could this former Bruin be let go by his current club?
© Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports - Former Bruins Star Named Buyout CandidateSoon, the NHL will have its Stanley Cup Champions for the 2023-24 season. As a result of this, we will soon start seeing teams around the NHL make several changes to their rosters in what should be a busy end to June.
48 hours after the Stanley Cup Final, teams around the NHL will get the opportunity to start buying out players. Because of this, Frank Seravalli recently discussed the league's top buyout candidates for the 2024 NHL Offseason. Former Boston Bruins defenseman Torey Krug made the cut.
Krug has been in the rumor mill for quite some time. During last offseason, the St. Louis Blues had a deal in place to trade Krug to the Philadelphia Flyers, but the veteran blocked it using his no-trade clause. Since then, he has remained a trade candidate, as he is a veteran on a retooling Blues club.
Krug's full no-trade clause makes it incredibly challenging for the Blues to move him. As a result, if the Blues want to free cap space in the long term and change up their blueline, buying out Krug could be an option.
If the Blues bought out Krug, he would be on the books for six years, carrying a cap penalty of $333,000 to $2.33 million. As Seravalli also noted, Krug's buyout over the next four seasons "barely adds up to one more season at $6.5 million."
Nevertheless, there are clear reasons for the Blues to buy out Krug, but there are also some risks. Even if his cap hit is expensive, he is still impactful because of his offensive production from the point. However, we will need to wait and see what the Blues decide to do with the former Bruin from here.