Marcus Krüger
Quick Facts
Biography
Marcus Krüger (born 27 May 1990) is a Swedish professional ice hockey centreman currently playing for the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted by the Blackhawks in the fifth round, 149th overall, in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. He is a double Stanley Cup champion with the Blackhawks in 2013 and 2015.
Before joining the Blackhawks, Krüger previously played for Stockholm-based Djurgårdens IF of the Swedish Elite League. Krüger represents Sweden in international play, helping his country capture a bronze medal at the junior level and a silver medal in senior international play.
Playing career
Sweden
Krüger was announced as the first of four nominees for the 2009–10 Elitserien Rookie of the Year on 18 October 2009 after starting the season with five goals and 11 assists in just 13 games.
NHL
Krüger signed a three-year contract with the Chicago Blackhawks in June 2010, but opted to stay with Djurgården during the first year of the contract He was later recalled from Djurgården to Chicago on 23 March 2011. Krüger's first full season with the Blackhawks was in 2011–12, when he played in 71 games with the club, scoring nine goals and adding 17 assists.
On 9 April 2013, in Game 5 of the Western Conference Quarter-finals, Krüger scored his first career Stanley Cup playoff goal, which happened to be the game winner, against Minnesota Wild goaltender Josh Harding. The Blackhawks eventually won the 2013 Stanley Cup, with Krüger contributing three goals during the team's run. After his playoff success with the team, Krüger signed a two year extension with the Blackhawks on 12 July 2013.
He scored eight goals along with 20 assists in 81 games for Chicago during the 2013–14 NHL season. On 19 May 2015, he scored the game winning triple overtime away goal to tie the Western Conference finals 1-1 against the Anaheim Ducks.
On September 11, 2015 Krüger signed a one-year, 1.5 million dollar contract to stay with the Blackhawks for the 2015–16 season.On December 17, Krüger dislocated his wrist in a game against the Edmonton Oilers. He was projected to miss at-least four months while recovering from the injury. On February 27, 2016 the Blackhawks announced that Krüger would be switching his number to 22 in order for his new teammate acquired from the Winnipeg Jets, Andrew Ladd, to keep his traditional number 16. On March 9, The Blackhawks signed Krüger to a three-year, $9.25 million contract extension that runs through the 2018–19 season.
International play
Krüger has represented Sweden three times in international play. At the junior level, he helped his country capture a bronze medal at the 2010 World Junior Championships. After graduating to the senior level, Krüger has played for Sweden twice, in 2011 (finishing with a silver medal) and 2012. He also represented Sweden in the 2014 Winter Olympics. After several injuries to the team's centremen, Krüger played on Sweden's first line in the tournament final against Canada, which the Swedes lost, 3–0.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
2007–08 | Djurgårdens IF | J20 | 22 | 3 | 13 | 16 | 16 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 0 | ||
2008–09 | Djurgårdens IF | SEL | 15 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2008–09 | Djurgårdens IF | J20 | 34 | 9 | 30 | 39 | 24 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 2 | ||
2009–10 | Djurgårdens IF | SEL | 38 | 11 | 20 | 31 | 14 | 16 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 6 | ||
2010–11 | Djurgårdens IF | SEL | 52 | 6 | 29 | 35 | 52 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
2010–11 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
2011–12 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 71 | 9 | 17 | 26 | 22 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
2012–13 | Rockford IceHogs | AHL | 34 | 8 | 14 | 22 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2012–13 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 47 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 24 | 23 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 2 | ||
2013–14 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 81 | 8 | 20 | 28 | 36 | 19 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | ||
2014–15 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 81 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 32 | 23 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | ||
2015–16 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 41 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 24 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
SHL totals | 105 | 19 | 51 | 70 | 68 | 19 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 6 | ||||
NHL totals | 328 | 28 | 60 | 88 | 142 | 83 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 12 |
International
Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2010 | Sweden | WJC | 6 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 2 | |
2011 | Sweden | WC | 9 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 10 | |
2012 | Sweden | WC | 8 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 6 | |
2014 | Sweden | Oly | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
Junior totals | 6 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 2 | |||
Senior totals | 23 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 20 |