NHL Notebook: Krug, Backes, RFAs & Johansson - 5 questions facing Bruins this offseason

As the runners-up in the Stanley Cup Final, the Bruins are the unfortunate recipients of the shortest summer among NHL clubs, without a trophy to show for it.

Ending their campaign between a month or two after other teams puts Boston’s skaters at a bit of a disadvantage when it comes to licking their wounds from the regular bumps and bruises, rehabbing from more severe injuries and of course, prepping for another grueling season in 2019-20.

The shorter window won’t alter the plans of Boston’s top brass, however, with Don Sweeney and Co. poised to hit the ground running with the NHL Draft and free agency rapidly approaching.

While most of Boston’s key cogs are locked up or under team control going into 2019-20, the always looming cap figures to play a major role in a summer that could be pretty eventful for the B’s, who will look to orchestrate another deep Cup run next spring.

BostonSportsJournal will be taking deeper dives into all of these upcoming offseason topics over the next couple of weeks, but for now, here’s a quick look at five pressing questions facing the Bruins this summer.

What do the Bruins do with Torey Krug?



There are bigger fish to fry this offseason when it comes to both unrestricted and restricted free agents for the Bruins to lock up (or at least attempt to lock up), but the biggest potential domino to fall might lie in Torey Krug, who is set to enter the final year of a four-year, $21 million contract he signed with the Bruins back in the summer of 2016.

After a Cup run in which Krug tallied 18 points over 24 playoff games, including six in the Cup Final, the 28-year-old blueliner is in line for a massive pay raise in 2020, one that he’ll certainly command on the open market as one of the top power-play quarterbacks in the league.

While Krug noted on Friday that the team has not yet discussed a potential extension with him, he’s made his intentions known of where he’d like to be going forward.

"That's been my goal from day one, is to become part of this locker room and this core," he said. "Guys have come and gone and I've been lucky enough to stay for a while and I want to be here forever. It's a great group of guys. You feel really privileged to be a part of this group."

Of course, the Bruins would love to keep Krug on board for the foreseeable future. But at the cost of $7-8 million annually on a deal carrying him into the 30s? There’s quite a bit of risk involved, especially with contracts looming in the coming years for Jake DeBrusk, Charlie Coyle and Matt Grzelcyk.

Boston very well could keep Krug for next year, and run it back with most of the same crew that came within a game of the Stanley Cup. Barring injury, Krug should continue to be as advertised, hovering around 50-60 points while sparking one of the most effective power-play units in the league.

Perhaps the Bruins could work out a deal with the defenseman, potentially hoping for a hometown discount that would keep Krug in the fold as a top-four option alongside his regular partner in Brandon Carlo.

But the scenario remains that Boston, looking to free up some more cap space in search of upgrades at other areas of the lineup, parts ways with Krug this summer with his value already sky-high — using his $5.25 million cap hit elsewhere and potentially adding a piece up front to help solve Boston’s carousel of wingers that were slotted up in the top-six last season.

Of course, dealing Krug would mean that Boston has to be confident that puck movers like Charlie McAvoy and Grzelcyk can excel if giving the keys to the car that is the power play, while trusting that a youngster like Urho Vaakanainen might be ready to hit the ground running come October with the big club.

There’s plenty of factors going into Boston’s decision when it comes to Krug, making it arguably the Bruins’ most fascinating (and difficult) decision of the summer.


What will the Bruins do with David Backes?

I expanded on this question quite a bit last night, but the looming issue of Backes and what currently stands as a $6 million cap hit over the next two years needs to be addressed by Boston this summer.

While Boston currently has $14.3 million in cap space allocated for this summer, you have to figure that most of that cash will be spent inking Boston’s RFAs (we’ll address this later). If Boston has any hope of re-signing someone like Marcus Johansson or another free agent out on the market, more cap space will have to be created.

Backes seems to be the obvious candidate to be moved, given both his contract and drop in production, but finding a way to offload that money is easier said than done, especially with a buyout still saddling the Bruins with over $8 million in a cap hit over the next two seasons, including $5,666,667 million in 2019 alone.

The best route for all parties likely lies in Backes being dealt to a team in need of hitting the salary floor, although it seems like a given that Sweeney and his staff would have to sweeten any potential deal by including a player/pick or eating some of that salary. Still not an ideal situation, but one that seems to be necessary in order to allow all groups involved to move on.

How much will B’s RFAs cost?

Let’s be clear, given Boston’s cap room, the B’s don’t have to worry about not having the capital outright to afford whatever deals that Brandon Carlo, Danton Heinen and McAvoy are due to receive from the team this summer.

The question lies in how much each player will command, and perhaps more importantly, how long these deals will be.

When looking at @EvolvingWild’s projected contracts for next season, it looks as though both Heinen and Carlo will be able to be signed for reasonable money, given their production in 2018-19 and their projections going forward.

For Heinen, a projected contract of two years, $5.6 million seems fair, given his dip in O-zone numbers, although it could stand as a great value if the winger rebounds after tallying 47 points as a rookie — while building on his play as a two-way forward. Don’t be surprised if he gets some extended looks up with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand next season.

As for Carlo, who might be limited in terms of offensive contributions, a six-year, $25.8-million contract still seems about right, with the 22-year-old blueliner really boosting his value with a fantastic postseason. With Zdeno Chara set to turn 43 next March, Carlo stands to be next in line as Boston’s minutes-eating, go-to penalty killer on defense that should continue to make major strides going forward.



As for McAvoy? Well, it certainly seems like the potential franchise D-man wants to stay in Boston for the long term.

“I don’t want to go anywhere,” McAvoy said Friday. “It’s the best place on earth. This is home for me now, and, you know, I love it here and I want to be here forever.

“I think losing in the manner that we did, I just want to win so bad and just be a part of it. This is a city full of champions and everyone here delivers and they all won at one point, and I just want to be a part of that so frickin’ bad — and we were so close — but we just have to believe that we’ll be back.”

Still, it will be fascinating to see how much McAvoy commands on a new deal. We’ve seen Boston strike gold with key RFAs in the past, such as David Pastrnak’s bargain of a six-year, $40 million contract he signed in 2017. We also saw the club settle on a bit of a bridge deal with Krug, a fair compromise, but one that is definitely causing headaches now.

With EvolvingWild projecting McAvoy’s cap hit at around $7.2 million, the 21-year-old defenseman is poised to cash in now, even if a potential deal might hover more around the $6-6.5 million range. However, it wouldn’t come as much of a surprise if McAvoy opts to go for a shorter bridge deal if he has his eyes set on a larger, $8-10 million range deal for AAV in the coming years with the cap ceiling expected to rise and with larger contracts on Boston’s books set to be freed up.

It seems like a given that McAvoy will be patrolling Boston’s blue line for the foreseeable future. How that tenure is mapped out with this first major pay raise still remains an interesting topic.

Can Bruins find a way to keep Marcus Johansson in the fold?

If this was discussed at the end of the regular season, Johansson would be viewed as a surefire UFA casualty for the upcoming summer, with the trade-deadline pickup leaving much to be desired after being limited to just one goal and three points over 10 games with the Bruins.

Some of that was far from Johansson’s fault, given that he missed close to three weeks with a lung contusion while also getting shuffled all over the lineup. But after his efforts in the postseason, it seems like the Bruins are going to try to do everything in their power to retain the 28-year-old winger going forward.

Hitting his stride on a third line centered by Charlie Coyle, Johansson was oftentimes one of Boston’s most effective forwards in the playoffs, especially during 5v5 play. His speed, playmaking ability and proficiency at generating clean zone entries allowed the third line to keep Boston afloat at times, outscoring the competition, 7-4, in 134:01 of 5v5 TOI during the playoffs.

Still, while Johansson could help keep Boston’s bottom-six rolling as one of the most effective groups in the NHL, the winger is due for a nice payday — potentially earning a four or five-year contract with an AAV exceeding $5 million.

That will be tough for the Bruins to swing, but the Bruins do have some means to clear up some cap space, starting with however they handle Backes’ deal.

John Moore, set to make $2.75 million a year over the next four seasons, could also potentially be on the move in order to free up some cash, but the veteran’s value is low at the moment. While he performed well during the postseason, he is expected to miss the next 4-6 months after undergoing shoulder surgery.

Without a doubt, Sweeney will have to do quite a bit of cap-space maneuvering if Boston wants to retain a player like Johansson.

Can Bruins find an upgrade in top-six?

David Krejci put together one of the best seasons of his career in 2018-19, surpassing 70 points for the first time in a decade while helping Jake DeBrusk set a new career high with 27 tallies.

And yet, that second line struggled to find a consistent presence on its right side all season long, with Krejci and DeBrusk featured on 10 different line combinations that logged at least 10 minutes of 5v5 TOI together.

The duo arguably found its best fit with Karson Kuhlman, but the speedy winger could slot into a fourth line with Sean Kuraly and Chris Wagner next season, especially if Noel Acciari (a UFA) signs elsewhere.

Perhaps Bruce Cassidy slots down David Pastrnak to play with Krejci and DeBrusk (57.02 CF%) and a player like Heinen or Anders Bjork earns reps with Bergeron/Marchand?

Or perhaps Sweeney keeps tabs on any available wingers outside of the organization? Boston likely doesn’t have the capital to spend big in free agency, but a trade could certainly be struck, especially if Boston decides to part ways with an impact player like Krug. With Boston’s championship window limited when it comes to players like Bergeron, Krejci and Tuukka Rask, Boston likely will explore any and every option to put itself over the top in 2019-20.

Important Offseason Dates:

June 15 — First Buyout Period begins
June 19 — NHL Awards in Las Vegas
June 20 — GMs Meeting in Vancouver
June 21-22 — NHL Draft Vancouver
June 25 — Full schedule released for 2019-20
June 26-28 — Bruins Development Camp
July 1 —  Free Agency Begins