The Boston Bruins issued an update on defenseman Torey Krug today, indicating that he will be re-evaluated in three weeks after sustaining an injury to his left ankle in Saturday night’s game. With the season starting in just a few days, the Bruins will need to find someone else to take on the minutes Krug usually handles at even strength and on the powerplay.
Boston will begin their season with a visit to the defending Stanley Cup Champions on Wednesday night, and plenty of pressure will fall on the shoulders of young defenseman Charlie McAvoy once again. Though the team did bring in John Moore this summer and re-signed Zdeno Chara to a one-year deal, McAvoy and fellow youngsters Brandon Carlo and Matt Grzelcyk will be asked to do plenty of the heavy lifting this year and push the Bruins back into contention. The forward group is one of the deepest in the league, and if the defense can be as well-rounded as it has shown at times there is little that Boston can’t do in the Atlantic Division.
Still, losing Krug does hurt in terms of offensive production from the back end. The 27-year old is coming off his best season with 59 points in 2017-18, and is among the best goal-scoring defensemen in the league. Though undersized and sometimes overmatched in his own end, he’s still plenty effective at even strength and has logged more than 20 minutes a night in each of the last three seasons. There is some worry that the injury could last much longer than three weeks, though the team won’t commit to any timeline until the re-evaluation down the road.