Bourque wants Krug to play entire career with Bruins: report

Ray Bourque didn't play his entire NHL career with the Boston Bruins, but the Hall of Fame defenseman said he wants Torey Krug to do so.

"I just hope he gets to live out his career here in Boston," Bourque told The Athletic of Krug, a defenseman who can become an unrestricted free agent after this season. "It'll be great for everybody, and I know he knows that, but he knows the business side of it as well and that always makes it tough."

Bourque played 21 seasons for the Bruins before he was traded to the Colorado Avalanche in 2000 in hopes of winning the Stanley Cup, which he did the following season, when the Avalanche defeated the New Jersey Devils in Game 7 of the 2001 Stanley Cup Final, his last NHL game.

"The biggest regret was not being able to win here in Boston," Bourque told the website in remarks published Monday. "... I was living in Denver when we were doing the (2001) parade and the celebration, all I could think about was, 'Imagine this in Boston?'

"And when they won (in 2011), and as a fan watching, I certainly knew how it was going to be so crazy, and it was. So the one thing that I certainly would've liked, to [win] with so many great teammates that I played with here in Boston."

Krug last season helped the Bruins reach Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, which they lost to the St. Louis Blues. Boston this season had the best record in the NHL (44-14-12) when the season was paused March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus.

Krug leads Bruins defensemen with 49 points (nine goals, 40 assists) in 61 games this season, and has scored 337 points (67 goals, 270 assists) in 523 regular-season games over seven seasons. He made his NHL debut in 2011-12, the season after Boston defeated the Vancouver Canucks to win the Stanley Cup.

The 29-year-old has said he hopes to re-sign and stay with Boston.

"He's a special player," Bourque said. "He's such a competitor. He's a great kid. He's a great Bruin. He wants to be a Bruin. You watch that team play and you can see the joy and the fun that they have playing together and the chemistry that team has. ... I'd love to see him sign here."

Bourque, who has the most goals (410), assists (1,169) and points (1,579) by an NHL defenseman, had his No. 77 retired by the Bruins in 2001 was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2004. He said he has known Krug since his son Chris Bourque and Krug were teammates with Providence of the American Hockey League in 2012-13.

"We got to spend a lot of time with Torey after games, going to dinner with him and his wife, and Chris and his wife," Bourque said. "Chris and Torey are really close, and we got to spend some time over the holidays with the Krugs, so it's been a lot of fun and joy watching him play and grow as a player and a person."