Torey Krug won’t be coming home, folks.

The 29-year-old Michigan native is signing a massive contract with the St Louis Blues to the tune of $6.5m AAV:

Torey Krug signs in St. Louis for the longest term of the day (seven years) and biggest AAV ($6.5M).

— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) October 10, 2020

Krug gets his big payday, and the Red Wings miss out on a player who has been connected to them for months. This could be a real sign that Steve Yzerman is not ready to hand out big contracts right now. Yzerman signed Jon Merrill to a one-year deal early Friday, so it’s clear that the second-year GM is being selective with what type of contract he gives out.

Yzerman took questions late Friday night. He talked a lot about signing Jon Merrill and Bobby Ryan, confirmed that the three signings later in the day were meant as “call-up” players, and then revealed that big contracts aren’t what he’s looking for right now:

Yzerman confirms they are looking at shorter contracts. “High-quality” veterans who can help young players improve.

— Kyle M. (@KyleWIIM) October 10, 2020

So, the pattern matches up here.. The Red Wings were rumored to be interested in Jacob Marktrom — he signed a big contract with Calgary. The Red Wings were rumored to be interested in Torey Krug — he signed a big contract with St. Louis. Yzerman said that he is open to the idea of a big contract, but hinted that it’s not the time a la “in this economy.” (He actually said that. He actually said “in this economy” and it was fuckin’ hilarious).

There are plenty of names left out there in free agency. Yzerman clearly isn’t done here.