Blackhawks sign Kruger after trading Versteeg, Nordstrom
It was a long wait for Marcus Kruger, but the 25-year-old restricted free agent came to terms with the Blackhawks on a one-year, $1.5-million deal Friday.
The move was made possible because the team, less than two hours before, announced they had traded Kris Versteeg, Joakim Nordstrom and a third-round draft pick to Carolina for a pair of young defensemen and a fifth-round draft pick.
Moving Versteeg saves the Hawks $2.2 million and opened up enough cap space to re-sign Kruger. The Stockholm, Sweden native, who has missed just three games over the last three seasons and is a huge part of the Blackhawks penalty kill unit, didn't get the long-term deal he was seeking, but this gives both parties time to iron something out over the next year.
It also allows Kruger, who scored 7 goals and had 10 assists last season, to be at training camp in South Bend on Friday as the Hawks get set to defend their title.
Versteeg was part of Hawks championships in 2010 and 2015. He scored 14 goals and had 20 assists in 61 games last season and appeared in 12 of 23 postseason games.
The 29-year-old veteran, who became a new dad just before the NHL Final vs. Tampa Bay, addressed the subject of possibly being dealt at the Hawks fan convention in July.
"It is part of the game," he said. "Sometimes you've got to make moves. We had to do a lot in 2010 and I was a part of that (being traded to Toronto). We have to do a lot now, and that's the circumstances of great teams."
He was then asked if he wanted to stay with the Hawks.
"Yeah, I hope I'm not (traded). I'd love to come back. I love it here."
Carolina will be Versteeg's fifth team since the 2009-10 season.
The 23-year-old Nordstrom played in 54 games over the past two seasons with the Hawks, scoring 1 goal.
The two players the Hawks received in the deal with the Hurricanes are 24-year-old Dennis Robertson and 18-year-old Jake Massie. Neither has played in an NHL game. Both players were sixth-round selections (Robertson by Toronto in 2011 and Massie by Carolina in 2015).