And just like that, the tiring contract saga between the Boston Bruins and restricted free agents Torey Krug and Reilly Smith is over, with each skater signing a one-year deal worth $1.4 million.
It’s not the two-year bridge deal that Peter Chiarelli and the Bruins are big fans of, but it’s a contract that pays the young duo below market value, putting the cap-hurting Bruins in better standing than most envisioned. Seriously, most thought that you’d be lucky if you could get Smith alone in at $2.8 million.
The contracts are obvious ‘show us it’s real’ type of contracts for Smith and Krug.
Both experienced unbelievable success as integral parts of the Bruins’ run to the Presidents’ Trophy last season, but with Jarome Iginla gone, it's on Krug to prove that he's not a complementary piece to that power-play machine, and for Smith to prove that he's more than a high shooting percentage. Smith, a piece acquired in the infamous Tyler Seguin trade, scored 20 goals and 51 points, and had a strong playoffs (based on the shortcomings around him) with four goals and an assist in 12 games played. Krug, an unexpected gem of the 2013 postseason, quarterbacked the B’s top power play unit with 14 goals and 40 points in 79 games.
Their returns were obviously crucial to the Black and Gold’s hopes for another Stanley Cup run this year. But with the deals, moves will need to be made by Chiarelli, as this puts the Bruins $3.6 million over the cap.
That figure does not include Marc Savard’s $4 million cap-hit, which can’t be put on the long-term injury reserve list ‘til opening night next Wednesday, nor does it include Ryan Spooner’s likely presence on the NHL roster with his $760,000 cap-hit. Obvious trade candidates you’ve heard about this offseason include Johnny Boychuk ($3.3 million) and Chris Kelly ($3 million), along with grittier bottom of the lineup types like Gregory Campbell ($1.6 million), Matt Bartkowski ($1.25 million) and Adam McQuaid ($1.56 million).
If the Bruins have their say, they’ll be moving pieces that come with the least amount of potential consequence if injuries or inconsistencies plague the 2014-15 squad. This makes a Boychuk, Kelly, or even a McQuaid trade a gamble for Chiarelli and Co. If you move Boychuk or McQuaid, you’re back where you were last year if you lose a top-four defender to injury. If Bergeron goes down, Campbell becomes your top penalty-killing center if Kelly’s gone.
The trickle-down is real, and that's why the Bruins have yet to make a big move.
Smith’s signing also appears to mark the end of Ville Leino’s tryout with the club, as he did not take the ice today with any of the B’s six lines for practice this morning.
Leino had one goal and two points in two preseason contests this year.