from Scott Powers of ESPN,

Marcus Kruger was patient with the Chicago Blackhawks throughout the offseason; he put aside his desire for a long-term deal and ultimately agreed to a very cap-friendly one-year contract.

Kruger’s agent J.P. Barry is hopeful the Blackhawks will reward his client for that in the future. Kruger, who was a restricted free agent, agreed to a one-year, $1.5 million contract on Friday. He’ll become a restricted free agent again after the 2015-16 season.

“The reality is you do the deal now,” Barry said by phone on Monday. “Everybody knows, Chicago knows, he wants to be there. He wants to continue the discussion of a long-term deal. There’s a lot of good faith. From our standpoint, the strategy now is for Chicago to work hard to open up cap room and do an extension later this year.”

continued