Capped: Krug and Smith Sign Extensions

Chris Pudsey

2015-03-12

ToreyKrug

The cap league implications of the contract extensions for Krug and Smith.

This week the Bruins shored up a couple of their future by re-signing Torey Krug and Reilly Smith to new contracts. Krug signs a one-year deal for $3.4M and Smith signs a two-year deal with an annual cap hit of $3.425M. Last year, both had signed a one-year, bridge contract for $1.4M each. In this weeks Capped, we will take a look at both players and their new contracts to see if the value matches the price.

****

Torey Krug's new deal is only for one year. I am a bit surprised at the term on this deal, and to some extent, the dollar amount. If anything, I think the Bruins got a good deal here. Maybe the plan was to keep the term short so Krug can sign a more lucrative contract next year because $3.4M is below what most other defencemen have been signing for lately.

Thanks to Frozen Pool, here's a look at his numbers this year and from his rookie year a season ago:

SEASON	GP	G	A	P	PntPG	+/-	PIM	Shots	SH%	HITS	PPG	PPP	SHG	BLKS	PPTOI	%PP	%SH	TOI/G	%TOI
2014-2015	62	11	21	32	0.52	8	16	151	0.07	58	2	11	0	53	02:22	54.3	3.6	19:08	31.4
2013-2014	79	14	26	40	0.51	17	28	183	0.08	50	6	19	0	77	02:31	54.9	4.7	17:31	28.9

His number this year is very similar to last year. He's on pace for a similar offensive year even though his shooting percentage is down a hair and he appears to be getting less power-play time. That being said, with the Chara injury earlier in the year, his average ice time is up this year.

If we compare him to five other defencemen who are making something close to his $3.4M hit, here's how the numbers play out.

Name	Age	Team	Cap Hit	Pts	PPP	Hits	Blks	PIM	SOG
Francois Beauchemin	34	ANA	$3.5	18	3	86	84	42	83
Nick Grossman	30	PHI	$3.5	9	0	101	72	16	36
Rob Scuderi	36	PIT	$3.494	8	0	36	89	17	44
Jason Demers	26	DAL	$3.4	20	4	102	67	63	80
Johnny Oduya	33	CHI	$3.375	5	0	47	102	26	64
Torey Krug	23	BOS	$3.4	32	11	58	53	16	151

Ryan Murray (who makes $3.494M) could have been added to this list but seeing as he's only played in seven games this year, he was left him out.

Krug is obviously the only offensive defenceman on this list and his numbers easily reflect that. If your salary cap league is points only, you are one happy camper after this signing. He puts up decent peripherals for an offensive defenceman but that's obviously not his calling calling card. His offense compares to others who have recently signed for more. Guys like Jake Muzzin, Anton Stralman, Nick Leddy to name a few have all signed for more money and longer term. If Krug puts up similar offensive numbers next year, I don't see him giving the Bruins another hometown discount, and I really couldn't blame him.

In regards to fantasy hockey, using Fantasy Hockey Geek, let's take a look at how these same players shake out for rankings in my fantasy league, the UHL. For those that don't know, the UHL is a 24-team, Salary Cap Dynasty League that is populated by many regulars here on Dobber Hockey. The league uses the following stat categories for scoring for skater; G, A, Plus/Minus, PIM, SOG, GWG, PPP, SHP, Hits, Blocks and FOW. Each team rosters a total 23 skaters and we use the same salary cap number as the NHL.

Name	UHL Rank
Francois Beauchemin	206
Nick Grossman	432
Rob Scuderi	406
Jason Demers	316
Johnny Oduya	483
Torey Krug	193

Obviously, Krug is the best asset in fantasy hockey from this list with Beauchemin being a close second. Oduya and Scuderi aren't even owned in the UHL, they are free agents.

So what does this new contract mean for the Boston Bruins?

****

Reilly Smith signed a two-year contract extension. Maybe it's just me but when looking at Krug's extension and Smith's, it makes me wonder if they didn't get these two deals backwards. It would appear that Smith has almost taken a small step backwards this year, yet is rewarded with the longer extension.

From Frozen Pool, here are Smith's numbers this year, and last year's numbers.

SEASON	GP	G	A	P	PntPG	+/-	PIM	Shots	SH%	HITS	PPG	PPP	SHG	BLKS	PPTOI	%PP	%SH	TOI/G	%TOI
2014-2015	66	12	24	36	0.55	11	18	118	0.10	63	1	9	0	34	01:53	43.4	0.3	15:42	25.7
2013-2014	82	20	31	51	0.62	28	14	146	0.14	63	6	14	0	14	01:38	36.4	0.1	14:42	24.2

What makes his minor decline this year even more curious is the fact he's seeing more ice time per game and more time with the man advantage this year compard to last. He's pretty much been a mainstay on Patrice Bergeron's wing all season long so it's not like he isn't seeing his fair share of quality ice time. Don't get me wrong, the Bruins are hurting on the wings and Smith is a key part of their future plans so I guess the two-year deal makes sense for both sides.

Name	Age	Team	Cap Hit	Pts	PPP	Hits	Blks	PIM	SOG
David Desharnais	28	MTL	$3.5	41	9	31	41	18	73
Lars Eller	25	MTL	$3.5	18	2	64	33	40	118
Kyle Turris	25	OTT	$3.5	45	10	35	27	32	177
Alex Tanguay	35	COL	$3.5	43	10	36	30	36	85
Tyler Johnson	24	TBL	$3.33	65	14	50	30	14	175
Reilly Smith	23	BOS	$3.425	36	9	63	35	18	118

Unlike Krug, Smith has some pretty tough competition in that price point to match up with. For the most part, he's actually holding his own pretty well when the numbers are all considered. He's definitely young enough where a bounce back could happen next year.

Again, for fantasy purposes, using Fantasy Hockey Geek, let's take a look at how these same players shake out for rankings in my fantasy league, the UHL.

Name	UHL Rank
David Desharnais	117
Lars Eller	267
Kyle Turris	74
Alex Tanguay	173
Tyler Johnson	16
Reilly Smith	214

All of a sudden, that new contract doesn't look quite as nice for the Smith owner in the UHL. He's going to need to show some dramatic improvement before his contract actually becomes worth rostering. Don't get me wrong, I don't expect the Smith owner to drop him after he signs this contract, but his value in our league certainly takes a hit until he turns it around.

So what does this contract mean for the Bruins?

Well the big thing it does is lock up one of their younger assets up front. The Bruins top six is now signed for a couple years, with only Milan Lucic needing a new contract by the end of next year. The bottom six still has a few question marks but there are few good assets down in Providence who have been knocking on the door for some time now.

The Final Word

After giving the Bruins a hometown discount last year, it's good to see the Bruins settle these young players before heading into the summer. I think the Bruins got a bargain as far as Krug goes but I wish they had got more term. They are putting themselves up for another battle after next year, assuming they plan on keeping him past that time. Who knows, maybe he doesn't last with the Bruins past next year. As far as Smith goes, I think they paid close to fair market value for him (in the actual NHL). His upside should allow him to grow and make this contract a good deal for both.

As it stands right now, after these two deals, the Bruins have about $61.6M committed towards the cap next year and still have some big decisions to make. Their bottom six has a couple question marks; their defence is only halfway built; and they still don't have a backup goalie signed past this season. Once again, it looks like it's going to be an interesting off-season for Peter Chiarelli and the Boston Bruins, depending on where the actual NHL salary cap settles.

****

As always, thanks for taking the time to read. Feel free to leave a comment and go ahead and give me a follow on twitter: @chrispudsey

UPCOMING GAMES

Dec 22 - 12:12	NYR	vs	CAR
Dec 22 - 17:12	T.B	vs	FLA
Dec 22 - 17:12	UTA	vs	ANA
Dec 22 - 17:12	WSH	vs	L.A
Dec 22 - 20:12	EDM	vs	OTT
Dec 22 - 20:12	COL	vs	SEA