Grzelcyk Prepares The Bruins For Life Without Krug

The Boston Bruins are in the trenches of their season and with 21 games played they sit atop the Atlantic with 31 points. Recently, they’ve been playing without their power play quarterback and second pair defenseman Torey Krug. In Krug’s absence Matt Grzelcyk has stepped into a role he may be forced to play next season.

Krug has been sidelined for the past five games and during that time Gryz has been moved to the second pairing and the first powerplay. They have comparable skating abilities and are similar players, while Gryz has been in Krug’s role he has been productive with four points in the five games. Including a nasty move around PK Subban last night.

“MATT GRZELCYK TAKES PK SUBBAN TO SCHOOL”https://t.co/v5oAlB98Lw pic.twitter.com/XHmsk7JT1N

— Marina Molnar (@mkmolnar) November 20, 2019

Gryzelcyk has slotted in perfectly for the Bruins, that being said they still want to keep Krug but should his price tag be too high this offseason Gryz will serve as his replacement. Gryz has shown flashes of offensive prowess before but he’s streaky and can go games without looking like the best version of himself. To put it simply Gryz is a “poor man’s” Krug. Not that he isn’t skilled it’s just that Krug has been providing consistent offense basically since his arrival and has only gotten better.

Puck moving defenseman are hard to come by and guys like Gryz and Krug are commodities who will end up receiving great paychecks. Having two of these guys on a roster is a blessing and unfortunately it may not last long. Krug hits free agency this summer and someone is gonna pony up and pay him big. The Bruins will have Gryz to fall back on and given this sample he’s shown he’ll be the next man up when the time comes. For now the Bruins hope Krug returns to action soon and they can use both offensive minded defenseman to push the pace of play.

Tyler Smith (@TylerSmith4386)