Detroit Red Wings should avoid signing Torey Krug
No, the Detroit Red Wings shouldn’t be the ones to give Torey Krug a huge contract.
The Detroit Red Wings are coming off arguably the worst season any team has had in the salary cap era. They scored the third-fewest goals per game of any team in the salary cap era, allowed the second-most, and had the worst point percentage. With money finally coming off the books, the Red Wings could get involved in the free agent market.
According to Matt Larkin of The Hockey News, the Red Wings might be a suitor for soon-to-be free agent defenseman Torey Krug. Krug is not expected to re-sign with the Boston Bruins, who signed him as an undrafted free agent back in 2012.
Torey Krug has ties to Michigan, as he played college hockey at Michigan State and was born in Livonia, Michigan. Returning home could be an appealing option for him. However, the Red Wings should avoid signing him for several reasons.
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First of all, Krug is going to cost a lot of money to sign. During an exit interview with the Bruins media members, he said he wasn’t planning on taking a hometown discount. Remember, Krug was an undrafted free agent. He’s had to take relatively cheap deals for most of his career. It’s understandable why getting a big deal is a top priority for him.
It’s hard to predict how much money Krug will make in these troubling times, especially with a flat salary cap. But according to Evolving Hockey, Krug is projected to make over $7.3 million per year on a five-year deal. Even for a team like the Red Wings, that’s a bit rich for someone who has never been a top-pairing defenseman.
Krug might very well be a top-pairing defenseman, but the Red Wings aren’t ready yet to make such a significant commitment.
Secondly, there’s a very good chance Krug won’t still be a very good defenseman whenever the Red Wings are competitive again. He turned 29 years old back in April. Krug will be 30 years old next year. Age is very rarely kind to defensemen. If Krug was a few years younger, signing him might make sense. But the Red Wings are at the very least three or four years away from being competitive. By then, Krug will not be nearly as good as he is right now.
The Red Wings would be better off staying far away from the big free agents. Those players probably aren’t going to be significant contributors in four or so years. Rather, the Red Wings should use their cap space as a way to get more assets. Let’s say a team would love to sign Taylor Hall, but needs to clear some space. The Red Wings could act as a third party, likely getting picks and/or prospects to take on another team’s bad deal.
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Krug is a great defenseman. But he simply doesn’t make sense for the Detroit Red Wings. The Red Wings got into the mess they’re currently in because former general manager Ken Holland signed too many players to too many expensive deals to try to remain competitive. They can’t afford to fall into that trap again.