Posted - 09/18/2017 : 16:56:25 Once a defensive powerhouse, the Boston Bruins’ reputation has fallen quite a bit over the years. The combination of aging stars and cap causalities has left the Bruins’ defense a shell of its former self. Zdeno Charas’s already 40 years old and former Bruins Dougie Hamilton and Johnny Boychuk have all been traded away, leaving Adam McQuaid and Kevan Miller to fill their minutes. But, (besides upcoming rookies like Brandon Carlo and Charlie McAvoy), there’s still Torey Krug manning the Boston blueline, bringing underrated offensive and fantasy ability to the lineup.
Signed by the Bruins all the way back in 2012, in Krug’s first full season with Boston he managed to hit the 40-point mark, scoring 14 goals and 26 assists in 79 games. The next year he didn’t take much of a step forward (with only 39 points in 78 games) but in his third season, Krug posted a new career-high of 44 points. What was so promising after this season was that Krug did this on the back of only a four-goal season, when he had always been a 10+ goal scorer in his career. His dreadful 1.6% shooting percentage was bound to bounce back, indicating the potential for even more offense. And improve he did, as last year he broke the 50-point mark for the first time in his career, ending the year with eight goals and 43 assists and providing immense fantasy value.
Out of all skaters in the NHL last year, Torey Krug provided the 18th most fantasy value and was the seventh most valuable defensemen according to Fantasy Hockey Geek (using an average 12-team H2H Yahoo league measuring G, A, PPP, SOG, Hits, W, SV%, GAA, and SO). His 51 points were tied for the seventh-most by a defender while his 25 power-play points were tied for fourth (behind only Hedman, Karlsson and Shattenkirk). His hit totals may have been lacking a bit, but he makes up for it with his strong shot numbers, being one of only nine defenders to record 200+ shots. At only 26 years old, Krug shows no signs of slowing with Dobber projecting him to be in line for another great season for fantasy owners.
With a projected 52 points, Krug is expected to finish as the 23rd most valuable skater in the league, right in front of Tyler Seguin and Roman Josi. With 246 shots, 21 power-play points and 61 hits, Krug should be able to contribute across several different categories and provide value across the board. Combine that with where he’s expected to be drafted this year and you have possibly one of the most valuable players in fantasy hockey. On Fantrax, he has an average draft position of 59th overall and on Yahoo, he’s projected to be drafted only 87th overall. In comparison, the two players who equal his Fantasy Hockey Geek value (Tyler Seguin and Joe Pavelski) are projected to be drafted 22nd overall and 32nd overall respectively.
Despite not usually being considered as an elite fantasy option, Torey Krug should once again provide immense value next season. Besides being one of the best point-producing defensemen in the NHL, Krug’s value across several other categories makes him a force to be reckoned with in fantasy circles.
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