It's not surprising that Torey Krug is leaving Boston. It's a little surprising where he's heading next, though.
Krug has signed with the St. Louis Blues on a seven-year deal worth $45.5 million (annual cap hit of $6.5 million).
The Bruins' reported final offer was six years for the same average annual value, although Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reports that at some point Friday the Bruins indicated that offer was no longer on the table, and that they "must have something else going on."
Reports emerged earlier Friday that the Blues were expected to make a strong run at Krug if they weren't able to re-sign their own star defenseman, Alex Pietrangelo. Pietrangelo has not yet signed with anyone, but apparently the Blues were ready to not only make the pivot, but to fully commit to Krug.
Krug and the Bruins lost to the Blues in the Stanley Cup Final in 2019, a series in which Krug threw this memorable hit on Robert Thomas.
Krug, now 29, signed with the Bruins in 2012 as an undrafted free agent out of Michigan State. He burst onto the scene at the NHL level in the 2013 postseason, when he got called up after a rash of injuries on the Bruins blue line and scored four goals in his first five career playoff games.
He developed into one of the best offensive defensemen and power-play specialists in the NHL during his time with the Bruins, registering at least 39 points in each of his seven full seasons in Boston. His 212 points over the last four seasons were sixth among NHL defensemen behind only Brent Burns, John Carlson, Victor Hedman, Roman Josi and Erik Karlsson.