Blues sign krug, 7 years, $45.5m

[JCShutout]

EDIT: My tablet can’t seem to copy and paste atm, but its on twitter and the blues main site.

[glen a richter]

And there’s our answer. Good luck in Vegas, Alex.

Edit: In reading what Army said, he claims that resigning Petro isn’t off the table. My question is how in the absolute hell does he plan to pull that off now? It sounds like a total nonsense statement to placate fans who are upset about losing him in favor of a 5’9” former Bruin because I can’t think of any way he comes up with the money.

[theohall]

And there’s our answer. Good luck in Vegas, Alex.

People keep saying this, but not explaining how Vegas is going to clear the space to pay him a 7 yr 9.3M contract when they only have 1.875 in current space right now and 8.4M for 21-22 with Martinez and Nosek needing contracts. Who is going away from the current Vegas team to accommodate signing Petro? Everyone on the roster is currently signed - so that 1.875 is the real number - and it means moving pieces - which will require all of these other GMs to actually help Vegas. No GM wants to help Vegas after the last expansion draft when Vegas took advantage of several teams.

Toronto is out. Calgary apparently expressed interest and is out.

With small moves the Flyers could afford it. So could the Islanders if they let Barzal walk. What's kind of crazy... the Bruins have the space - although Chara isn't signed - and could have signed Krug easily to the same deal the Blues offered.

Nashville is in there, but the rumours around Nashville is they are trying not to max out their cap in case Weber retires.

Leaving Colorado and a bunch of non-contending teams - all of which could easily afford what Petro is supposedly asking - which the Blues could not without finding a trade partner to take on at least one salary.

As of now, the Blues are over and Vince Dunn hasn't signed. So something has to give somewhere.

[theohall]

The answer to how the Blues could still sign Petro - trade Bozak and Faulk.... but that's a pipe dream.

[glen a richter]

The answer to how the Blues could still sign Petro - trade Bozak and Faulk.... but that's a pipe dream.

If that happened then Army should get instant induction in the hockey hall of fame—and a monstrous pay raise.

[glen a richter]

And there’s our answer. Good luck in Vegas, Alex.

People keep saying this, but not explaining how Vegas is going to clear the space to pay him a 7 yr 9.3M contract when they only have 1.875 in current space right now and 8.4M for 21-22 with Martinez and Nosek needing contracts. Who is going away from the current Vegas team to accommodate signing Petro? Everyone on the roster is currently signed - so that 1.875 is the real number - and it means moving pieces - which will require all of these other GMs to actually help Vegas. No GM wants to help Vegas after the last expansion draft when Vegas took advantage of several teams.

Toronto is out. Calgary apparently expressed interest and is out.

With small moves the Flyers could afford it. So could the Islanders if they let Barzal walk. What's kind of crazy... the Bruins have the space - although Chara isn't signed - and could have signed Krug easily to the same deal the Blues offered.

Nashville is in there, but the rumours around Nashville is they are trying not to max out their cap in case Weber retires.

Leaving Colorado and a bunch of non-contending teams - all of which could easily afford what Petro is supposedly asking - which the Blues could not without finding a trade partner to take on at least one salary.

As of now, the Blues are over and Vince Dunn hasn't signed. So something has to give somewhere.

Getting rid of MAF’s salary would be a start and then they don’t have much further to go from there.

Also if the Islanders let Barzal walk that would be an absolute disgrace. I don’t think they could do it, especially this close to the new arena being ready to go.

[theohall]

Vegas has offered to retain half of MAFs salary and a 2nd round pick to anyone.

The reply from those who were interested, per NHL Radio, 1st and a 2nd and retain half which Vegas is balking at giving up. No one is going to be nice to Vegas in terms of helping them salary wise, unless some team is desperate - and I don't see anyone being that desperate.

My take - if Vegas wants Petro - he's worth the 1st and 2nd they would have to give up to move MAF. It's not like they wouldn't have 6 more years of 1st round picks after next season or would find a high quality RHD by retaining that first. Seems short-sighted on Vegas part not to take the deal - IF Petro is in their equation.

Heck, Gallant got fired over the RHD thing (partially). Bring in DeBoer. He makes the same complaint. Magically, Zach Whitecloud gets promoted. Not sure their GM is getting the importance of balancing the defenseman. They could have the best top pair in the league putting Petro and Theodore on the ice together - at the cost of a 1st and 2nd...

[goon attack]

nice. dunn faulk now krug. why don't we entice Theo Fleury out of retirement and put him on the blue line, so we can have the smallest defense in the NHL since the 1919 Quebec Bulldogs

Krug rarely makes hits, but neither did Pansytrangelo.

I'm trying to find a silver lining to this nonsense, but I can't, other than we're saving a little bit of money and a pansy is leaving the roster

but to me it's a lateral move, one pansy for another

D-

[glen a richter]

I have to agree with goon here. The offense isn’t taking a hit, Krug and Pietrangelo are effectively equal in that facet of the game, but Krug is much smaller and not as good defensively. Pair him with Faulk and we’ll be seeing a lot of goals against.

[theohall]

I was going to write Krug won't be paired with Faulk - but checked first...

WTF?? ANOTHER LHD???? to replace Petro?????

I hope to heck Bortuzzo can play a full season.

[WaukeeBlues]

And there’s our answer. Good luck in Vegas, Alex.

People keep saying this, but not explaining how Vegas is going to clear the space to pay him a 7 yr 9.3M contract when they only have 1.875 in current space right now and 8.4M for 21-22 with Martinez and Nosek needing contracts. Who is going away from the current Vegas team to accommodate signing Petro? Everyone on the roster is currently signed - so that 1.875 is the real number - and it means moving pieces - which will require all of these other GMs to actually help Vegas. No GM wants to help Vegas after the last expansion draft when Vegas took advantage of several teams.

Toronto is out. Calgary apparently expressed interest and is out.

With small moves the Flyers could afford it. So could the Islanders if they let Barzal walk. What's kind of crazy... the Bruins have the space - although Chara isn't signed - and could have signed Krug easily to the same deal the Blues offered.

Nashville is in there, but the rumours around Nashville is they are trying not to max out their cap in case Weber retires.

Leaving Colorado and a bunch of non-contending teams - all of which could easily afford what Petro is supposedly asking - which the Blues could not without finding a trade partner to take on at least one salary.

As of now, the Blues are over and Vince Dunn hasn't signed. So something has to give somewhere.

Petro is very seriously running the risk of nowhere to sit in his game of musical chairs.

Right now Vegas has $1.875 in space after having moved Stastny out. They got 12 F, 7 D and 2 G. Word on the street is that there is a deal in place for Schmidt to be moved. That still only gets you to $7.825 (even if no salary coming back) so yea they'd have to move someone else. I'm really questioning this strategy from Vegas' end. Unless Schmidt is the only D man who goes and therefore it's a 1 to 1 "swap" there's an argument they're losing more in gross clearing way for Petro than he replaces by coming on board.

I was shocked when we signed Krug, didn't see that coming. I tend to agree to Goon, I don't know why we're angling for a small defense when we've always been known for big bodies and reach.

This whole thing was stupid. Strickland reported last night (and Army even said in his own presser via Zoom) that he was willing to offer some NMC protection and even some signing bonus structure which is unheard of obviously to try and keep Petro but that Petro wasn't really willing to budge. I wonder if we all overestimated how badly Petro wanted to stay v. cashing in, wherever that would be. Sounds like Army was more willing to be flexible than Petro was throughout this whole process. Whether that's a function of Petro's agency or him personally I guess doesn't matter but Strickland reported Petro didn't want anything other than a "Tavares type" deal where his base salary was league minimum and everything else was signing bonus money. That was a pipe dream from the word go.

[gaijin]

This whole thing was stupid.

I had that impression more or less since the beginning. It just didn't seem to me like the two sides were that far apart to warrant this standoff situation. Now, with all the other signings, especially Krug, there's pretty much no room for Petro, even if both sides could agree on numbers now.

[WaukeeBlues]

This whole thing was stupid.

I had that impression more or less since the beginning. It just didn't seem to me like the two sides were that far apart to warrant this standoff situation. Now, with all the other signings, especially Krug, there's pretty much no room for Petro, even if both sides could agree on numbers now.

I woke up this morning pissed off. It is. This whole thing was stupid.

You have to start with the Faulk deal. First, it was totally unnecessary. The brass clearly had enough of Edmundson after the arbitration hearing and wanted to move on. Fine. But WTF man? You trade for and extend a 3rd pairing D-man at $6.5 AAV? Army handcuffed himself right out of the gate with no reason to. And Pietrengelo took it for what it likely was: a leverage play and a failsafe if he didn't get re-signed. It was a jab in the ribs to him. Right out of the gate before the year even started Army sending a shot across the bow for no reason.

Plenty of this is Pietrangelo too. How sincere were his public comments about wanting to stay? Because at the end of the day (like I said above) it appeared to me that Armstrong was willing to get up into the $8 AAV range and offer some NMC protection, some signing bonus and the 8th year on the deal and Petro said no. Did Petro not really want to stay that badly? Did the Faulk situation already burn that bridge? Was Petro's agent just driving the ship and he wouldn't take anything less than the full NMC and full signing bonus money?

Here's what I know: Alex Pietrangelo is an elite defenseman in this league. He's stayed healthy, he can play every situation and he's a top 5 defenseman who logs a ton of minutes. Every metric I've seen says it can be expected he'll stay elite for the next three years (coincidentally probably our window to win again with the rest of this roster). Probably start to decline after that. You keep your elite players. Army f***ed this up. Arguably, the Faulk trade and extension was the end of it. You can make that argument. Army handcuffed himself from offering more money, and it also alienated Petro immediately. Then, not to his credit, Petro played hardball right back, was totally inflexible and that was that.

You keep your elite players. All of this could have been avoided. I don't think it's any question this team is worse today than it was a week ago. Army would apparently rather have 2-3 average or above average D-men than 1 slightly overpaid elite stud. Parayko can't defend all by himself.

Maybe I'm putting too much weight on the Faulk trade and extension. But I don't think I am.

Vegas immediately becomes top 2 in the NHL with Tampa, and arguably the favorite to win the cup. The blues window might be closed. I hope it isn't. But it might be.

[glen a richter]

The Faulk trade was nonsense then and it's more nonsense now. I guess if the Blues win another Cup in the next few years it'll be water under the bridge but it just seems like they were being unnecessary dicks to Pietrangelo by trading for and extending Faulk in the first place. Then they go out and sign Krug, I mean him plus Perunovich at some point and Dunn, got a small enough defense?

On top of that, Krug is a flippin' LHD. How many LHD do you need and how much down the depth chart do all the ones in the pipeline get pushed now? And the major organizational need for RHD and RHD prospects not only never got addressed but now got one very significant player worse. I'm extremely confused at the cluster that's occurred on defense ever since Eddy was shipped out. It was an ill advised trade and all the fixes that were undertaken to compensate have just made things stranger.

[WaukeeBlues]

The Faulk trade was nonsense then and it's more nonsense now. I guess if the Blues win another Cup in the next few years it'll be water under the bridge but it just seems like they were being unnecessary dicks to Pietrangelo by trading for and extending Faulk in the first place. ...

On top of that, Krug is a flippin' LHD. How many LHD do you need and how much down the depth chart do all the ones in the pipeline get pushed now? ... I'm extremely confused at the cluster that's occurred on defense ever since Eddy was shipped out. It was an ill advised trade and all the fixes that were undertaken to compensate have just made things stranger.

Lots of time left on Faulk's deal (*sigh*) but it truly could go down as the worst trade Armstrong has ever made. Not even just for the player acquired but for the opportunity cost of it maybe costing us Pietrangelo. At least Ryan Miller made sense at the time.

I just sit here this morning dumbfounded and confused. Sure you'll re-sign Berglund and Steen to long term over-pay extensions but the franchise defenseman who won you the first cup, you won't go there?

(Franking) stupid, I'm still (Franking) mad.

Then they go out and sign Krug, I mean him plus Perunovich at some point and Dunn, got a small enough defense?

That was my VERY first thought when they signed Krug. "So much for our big defensemen." How many times in our 2019 cup run did we hear about the Blues bringing our big, tough brand of hockey? Guess that's gone now...

How many LHD do you need and how much down the depth chart do all the ones in the pipeline get pushed now? And the major organizational need for RHD and RHD prospects not only never got addressed but now got one very significant player worse.

Not true! We signed Steven Santini!!!

[theohall]

No way would the Blues ever sign someone (or I should say Armstrong) to the deal Petro signed with Vegas. Have you seen the signing bonuses for years 3 thru 6? 7M, 8M, 8M and 6M. That's not how the Blues do business or ever have. That contract is on Petro and his agent demanding the signing bonus thing - almost like Tavares got.

Look at Krug's contract. ZERO signing bonuses. Heck, go through all the Blues defenseman.

Pietrangelo wanting a heavy signing bonus deal is why Armstrong immediately signed someone else. Petro and his agent's demands were unrealistic to the Blues contract structure - which he had to know - given he's been here so damn long.

[glen a richter]

No way would the Blues ever sign someone (or I should say Armstrong) to the deal Petro signed with Vegas. Have you seen the signing bonuses for years 3 thru 6? 7M, 8M, 8M and 6M. That's not how the Blues do business or ever have. That contract is on Petro and his agent demanding the signing bonus thing - almost like Tavares got.

Look at Krug's contract. ZERO signing bonuses. Heck, go through all the Blues defenseman.

Pietrangelo wanting a heavy signing bonus deal is why Armstrong immediately signed someone else. Petro and his agent's demands were unrealistic to the Blues contract structure - which he had to know - given he's been here so damn long.

Be that as it may, you, me and everyone else here knows that the Blues are sorely lacking in RHD at all levels and effectively swapping Pietrangelo for Krug makes that problem worse. I hope like crazy that Army has something up his sleeve to get another good NHL caliber RHD on the roster come hell or high water before next season starts... whenever that ends up being. I just don't have clue one who that would be.

[theohall]

True - but that doesn't change what the market had to offer and what Pietrangelo was trying to force.

Parayko slides up to #1 RD - we'll see how that goes
Faulk moves to #2 RD. IF (Huge gigantic massively bold if) Faulk can knock off the unforced turnovers, he could be fine there. Bortuzzo plays as much as he can as the 3rd RD - with a leftie filling in when he's hurt.

One thing Krug adds is a true PP QB which the Blues haven't had basically since Shattenkirk left. Maybe he can teach Dunn how to walk a defender near the blueline on the PP, since it seems like no one else can. Granted - there is still the way too many LD thing, but the Blues aren't the only team with that issue. Look around the league. Most teams don't even have a Parayko and a Faulk. Most teams have one average to good one - not what are supposed to be two good ones (supposing Faulk improves).

[goon attack]

army's probably thinking he can trade for an RHD at some point

[gaijin]

So... who gets the C? ROR?