With Roman Josi signing a new eight-year contract extension with the Nashville Predators this week that leaves St. Louis Blues captain Alex Pietrangelo and Boston Bruins defender Torey Krug as the top potential unrestricted blue-liners this summer.
During a Wednesday appearance on NBCSN, NHL insider Bob McKenzie offered some updates on where those situations could go over the next few month following Josi’s new contract.
When it comes to the Blues, McKenzie said general manager Doug Armstrong sat down with Pietrangelo’s representatives three-plus weeks ago but there have been no negotiations since then. McKenzie called it a “unique situation” because the Blues already went out and traded for defenseman Justin Faulk and signed him to a new contract extension, and then locked up forward Brayden Schenn to a long-term deal. With those contracts taken care of Pietrangelo will be the only major pending UFA the Blues have to deal with over the next couple of years and it could put them in a situation where they only have so much money to offer Pietrangelo if he wishes to remain with the only team he has ever played for.
He turns 30 this January and is currently playing on a contract that pays him $6.5 million per season.
Meanwhile, there is another interesting situation in Boston where the Bruins have to figure out a way to get Krug re-signed.
McKenzie pointed out the unique salary structure in Boston where the three best players (Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, and David Pastrnak) all make between $6 and $7 million per season and there could be pressure for players to not make more than them. Given Krug’s production, he could easily move past them on the salary scale.
Even though they were in a different situation this summer (RFA vs. UFA) the Bruins managed to get Charlie McAvoy and Brandon Carlo signed for a combined salary cap hit of under $7 million over the next two years. Krug, 28, makes $5.25 million per year and is one of the league’s most productive defenders.
You can check out McKenzie’s segment in the video above.
Finally, McKenzie also offered an update on Winnipeg Jets defender Dustin Byfuglien who remains away from the team.
McKenzie reported that Byfuglien recently underwent ankle surgery to take care of some unresolved issues from the high-ankle sprain he dealt with last season. He added that it is believed the ankle issue is one of the factors that resulted in him stepping away from the team just before the start of the season.
No one knows what this means for Byfuglien’s future, but McKenzie noted there is a sense that if Byfuglien does feel healthy enough at some point he could (emphasis on could) be inclined to return to the team.
Byfuglien’s decision to take time away was one of the many decisions that helped break apart nearly the entire Jets defense from a year ago.
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Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.