Krug Trying to Stay Patient During Pause

BostonBruins.com - Torey Krug and the rest of his NHL brethren are creatures of habit.
Over the course of an 82-game schedule, nearly every player falls into a stringent routine that they rarely - if ever - stray from.
"We're robots," Krug said bluntly during a video conference call with the media on Tuesday afternoon. "Every day we go to the rink, we have a routine."
That's what has made the last three weeks such a shocking departure from what some of the world's greatest athletes are used to. No games to prepare for, no video to review, no place to train, and no teammates to hang out with.

"Withdrawals, the abrupt end to the season up to this point," Krug said of the sudden shutdown of the National Hockey League on March 12 as the COVID-19 crisis began to wreak havoc across North America.
"I think most guys from a psychology standpoint, probably the initial shock overwhelms you and probably takes over for those first three to seven days. I would assume most guys used that as a resting period or just a chance to heal up a little bit or even just wonder about what's going on and process everything.
"From there, for me personally, it was let's get back into a routine."
In the interim, with the future of the 2019-20 season in limbo as the pandemic continues its surge across the globe, Krug's new normal is back home in his native Michigan. After spending the first couple of weeks at his townhouse in Boston, Krug, his wife Melanie, baby daughter Saylor, and English Bulldog Fenway relocated to his in-laws.
"They have a nice setup for us to bring our daughter, and Fenway's along for the ride too," said Krug. "Just like everyone else, hopefully practicing the social distancing cues that we've been instructed to [follow]. Being able to spend more time with Saylor has been a silver lining…but itching to get things back to normal."

For Krug, the shutdown has created even more uncertainty regarding his future. The 28-year-old, who has spent all nine of his NHL seasons in Black & Gold, is currently scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. Not knowing if he has already pulled on the Spoked-B for the final time has been a tad unsettling.
"There's so many unknowns," said Krug. "You can only control so much of that. For me personally, I really hope I did not play my last game as a Boston Bruin. It's been a special place for me and my family to grow and [grow] my love for the game. Being in front of these fans has been very special for me."
Krug said he has not had any contract discussions with Bruins general manager Don Sweeney during the NHL's hiatus.
"[This downtime] hasn't given me any clarity. I think if anything it's made me wonder about this process a little more." said Krug, who ranks sixth on the Bruins all-time scoring list among defensemen with 337 points in 523 games.
"I was just in the moment and playing games to help my team win and hopefully push us in the right direction to win a championship. Now with this season paused, definitely wondered about what's going to happen."
The B's power-play quarterback - who has 49 points (9 goals, 40 assists) in 61 games this season - had been sidelined at the time of the pause, missing one game after suffering an upper-body injury following an awkward collision with Tampa Bay Lightning forward Alex Killorn during Boston's 5-3 loss on March 7.
Without access to any rinks or training facilities, Krug acknowledged that it's difficult to completely assess where he would be health-wise should the season resume, but that right now he is feeling "really good."
"I'm healthy right now," said Krug. "I think I have a couple hurdles I have to jump over once I get back to get officially cleared. But as far as it goes now, I'm fully healthy and able to train as much as I can here at home."
Krug's training was limited at his home in Boston, which was part of the reason he made the trek out to Michigan, where he has continued to follow a bodyweight exercise outline provided to the players by the team's performance staff, as well as a program from his personal trainer.
"You make do," said Krug. "You have all the mobile apps, Peloton is the one I've been using. These are all great workouts…I've been running a little bit more than I normally do. It's been therapeutic in a way, trying to lick my wounds and try to heal up here as best I can in case we do get a chance to come back and play playoffs.
"It's been a hectic time and you're trying to find that balance of working hard just in case you're getting ready to play again, as well as maybe using this time as a little bit of rest."

Torey Krug and His Dog, Fenway](https://www.nhl.com/bruins/photos/pawsitivity-fenway-krug/g-316530184/p-316530192)

When - and if - things do get back to normal for the 2019-20 Boston Bruins, Krug admitted that he has no idea what a return to play process would like. In addition to the health and safety of the players, staff, and arena workers, Krug said whatever is decided upon must have integrity.
"For me, it's just a fairness thing," said Krug. "As long as the playing field is level, and we're all able to compete for a Stanley Cup, that's our ultimate goal. I don't know how it's gonna play out - none of us do. But it's a great opportunity to get creative and see what we can come up with.
"Restoring the integrity of the game, we have to make sure we're not doing anything crazy and that we can look back on it and be proud of what we were able to do under these circumstances."
Krug added that while the Bruins still have dreams of lifting the Stanley Cup at some point this summer, there are plenty of obstacles to overcome in the interim.
"I just hope we can get back and have an opportunity to win a Cup because this group that we have here is special. I think there's a lot of other teams around the league that feel the same way," said Krug. "As hockey players, most guys feel a little bit lost in this situation. But I think first and foremost, we have to park that and put that aside and realize that there's something bigger here.
"If we do get the opportunity to get back to playing let's be safe about it and be smart. Whether that's the health and the safety of the players, jumping right back into intense hockey from our body standpoint or just continuing the social distancing guidelines that we've been given.
"No one wants to jump back into a situation where we put a bunch of people in one area and all of a sudden this thing takes off again."
For now, Krug and his teammates are staying connected through a lively group chat, which has included plenty of chirping as the players become more entrenched in social media with the extra time on their hands.
"We stay in close contact…just the normal silly stuff that we go back and forth [about]" said Krug, who admitted to missing "trying to make sense of what comes out of Jake DeBrusk's mouth" and "seeing what Pasta's wearing when he walks through the door."
"I'm sure I'll get chirped a little bit with how I look on this video. I know guys are paying attention to social media more and more. Any time something funny comes up we try to put it in the chat and keep that bond going."