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PHOTO CREDITS: (Billy Hurst-USA TODAY Sports)

By: Max Mainville | Check me out on Twitter @tkdmaxbjj

Happy 29th Birthday to Boston Bruins Defenceman Torey Krug!!

Torey Krug was born on April 12th, 1991 in Livonia, Michigan, United States. At the age of seventeen, Krug started off playing for the Indiana Ice in the United States Hockey League (USHL), scoring 10-37-47 numbers in 59 games in the 2008-09 campaign, setting an Indiana Ice record for most points by a defenceman.

In 2009-10, Krug joined Michigan State University as a fifth or sixth defenceman on the roster, but before long, Krug skated in all 38 games that year and put up 3 goals and 21 points. That point total placed him second in rookie scoring on the team and led all CCHA first-year defenceman in points. In his second year, Krug was named the captain of the team and was named to the First-Team All-CCHA and was voted the CCHA’s Top Offensive Defenceman.

The 2011-12 regular-season was the final one for Krug with the Spartans and was also his best, as he scored 12 goals and 22 assists for 32 points in 38 games played. Krug was a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award and tied for the scoring title, making him the first defenceman to win the scoring title in the league since Wayne Gagner in 1986-87. Torey’s stellar collegiate performance led him to be one of the most sought-after free agents for NHL teams, thus signing with the Boston Bruins on an entry-level contract in 2012.

The 5-foot-9, 195-pound defender played only two games for the B’s in the 2011-12 season, and only one regular-season game in the following 2012-13 campaign, spending the majority of the time with the Providence Bruins where he produced 45 points in 63 games. Torey Krug finally made his mark on the NHL in the 2013 playoffs when he scored four goals and two assists in 15 playoff games – all of the goals coming in the semi-finals against the New York Rangers.

Seeing the success he had in the postseason, the Bruins used Krug in their regular-season lineup for 79 games in the ’13/’14 campaign, allowing him to put up 14-26-40 totals in that time as well as another impressive ten points in twelve playoff games. From this point on, Krug has become a dynamite offensive threat on the Bruins’ blueline, constantly putting up 50+ points per season.

As of 2019-2020, Krug’s best season came in the 2017-2018 year when he recorded 45 assists and 59 points in 76 games. In 2019-20, Krug has 9-40-49 numbers in the 61 games before the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a pause of league operations. On March 27th, 2019, Torey became the all-time leader in points by an American-born player in Boston Bruins history. Also, in Game Three of the Stanley Cup Finals, Krug became the first player in Boston Bruins history to score four points in a Finals game.

Torey has been in a lot of Bruins news as of late, mainly due to his contract that expires on July 1st, 2020. On April 7th, Krug said, “I really hope I haven’t played my last game as a Boston Bruin” in a video call and that idea was reiterated by General Manager Don Sweeney who stated, “I dearly hope that Torey hasn’t played his last game this year or going forward”, in a video conference on April 10th.

“Every negation has its own timeline. We’re hopeful that we’ll find a resolution with Torey and [his agent Lewis Gross]. At this point, we haven’t been able to do so. But it’s very amicable and we’ve made our feeling perfectly clear that we respect and acknowledge what Torey has done and what he’s capable of doing for the Boston Bruins. We hope that continues.” – GM Don Sweeney, April 10th, 2020

In 535 games for the Boston Bruins, Torey Krug has 67 goals and 270 assists for 337 points along with a +23 rating in addition to 11 goals and 35 assists for 46 points in 62 playoff games. Happy Birthday, Torey Krug!

Check out the new Black N’ Gold Hockey Podcast episode 174 that we recorded below on 4-12-20! You can find our show on many worldwide platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, iHeart Radio, Spotify, SoundCloud, and Stitcher.

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