(Photo Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY)

By: Andrew Taverna | Follow me on Twitter @andrewtaverna

According to Rear Admiral on Twitter, it is possible that Torey Krugs UFA rights could be on the move tomorrow before free agency opens on October 9th.

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Krug, who has been with the Bruins his entire career since being an undrafted free agent, made it clear to the media earlier this year that he was looking to sign his next big deal and that while he’d love to be a Bruin, it was his time to get paid. During his end-of-year availability, Krug was quoted saying, “There’s an emotional attachment. I think that’s a mistake that a lot of athletes get caught up in when they start their professional careers. There’s nothing personal about it. It’s business on both ends. Teams have to put the best team forward, spending certain amounts of money. And athletes have one shot at making all their money in their career. Whether you play one, two, three years in the league, up to 10, 15 years, you have one shot to do it all.” Krug continued, “I realize that and it is what it is, but there definitely is an emotional attachment,” Krug continued. “There’s no secret. I’ve been very outspoken about it and my teammates know it. Everyone knows it. It’s part of the business. It stinks. But we’ll see what happens moving forward.” It sounds like moving forward is inevitable at this point.

While it’s true that fans would also like to see Krug stay, as is evident when looking at Twitter, it’s also important to understand where the Bruin’s stand with this player.

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Krug turns 30 in April, and in all likelihood, is looking for a deal with term. Assuming he gets a six-year to an eight-year deal on the open market, the Bruins would be wise to step out of the conversation and get something in return before free agency opens.

What exactly could this look like for the Bruins? Well, according to RA, there are several teams in the mix. Colorado, Florida, Vegas, and Detroit appear to be in the lead for the negotiating rights. There are two possibilities I see playing out here. The Bruins could trade his rights for a mid-round draft pick, or they could look to be slightly more creative and trade for the rights of another free agent they feel could help their team.

If the Bruins look to get a mid-round draft pick, it’s within reason to think they could get a fourth or fifth-round pick for his rights. A comparison I’ve seen made on Twitter is Kevin Hayes. Last season, Philadelphia sent a fifth-round pick to Winnipeg in exchange for negotiating rights. Trading Krug’s right for a draft pick seems like the most likely scenario.

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A more creative solution here would be trading rights for rights. For example, the Colorado Avalanche could send Nikita Zadorov to the Bruins. The Florida Panthers are also in the mix who could send Dadanov this direction. This, while a more unlikely scenario, would allow Don Sweeney a bigger return for Krug, who many criticized he should have traded earlier if he thought he could not find a deal this offseason.

Ultimately, the Bruins are likely to move on from Krug tomorrow, and Bruins fans will be waiting with bated breath to determine where his final landing spot is and what we get in return.