Chicago Blackhawks trade Marcus Kruger to Vegas Golden Knights
In a long-expected move, the Chicago Blackhawks traded center Marcus Kruger to the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday for "future considerations."
Such language in an NHL trade isn't common, but it also isn't very surprising in this case considering the Hawks desperately needed to move Kruger's contract to help get them under the salary cap.
Both on the ice and in the locker room, Kruger brought a no-nonsense, lunch-bucket mentality during his six seasons with the Hawks. The fifth-round draft pick in 2009 was a mainstay on the penalty kill and brought stability for coach Joel Quenneville at the bottom of the lineup.
In the end, though, Kruger's $3.083 million cap hit was too expensive, and the team will move on by likely putting Tanner Kero in his spot.
"We thank Marcus for his many contributions to our team - most notably, two Stanley Cup Championships," said general manager Stan Bowman in a statement. "His work ethic, reliability and strength as a two-way player made him a valuable member of the organization."
Kruger scored 33 goals in 398 games as a Hawk and added 6 more in 87 postseason contests. The most memorable came on May 19, 2015, when Kruger ended the longest game in team history by banging in a rebound of a Brent Seabrook shot at 16:12 of triple overtime in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals in Anaheim. It gave the Hawks a 3-2 victory and evened the series at a game a piece.
Kruger's best season came in 2013-14 when he scored 8 goals and dished out 20 assists. He scored 5 goals last season in 70 games after not scoring at all the season before in 41 games.
• Follow John on Twitter @johndietzdh.