The St. Louis Blues could be missing a defenseman. Torey Krug Krug has been diagnosed with pre-arthritis in his left ankle and will miss the entire 2024-25 regular season. Krug will undergo physical therapy over the next six to eight weeks, focusing on pain management, strength and range of motion exercises to determine if his ankle is stable enough to play professional hockey.
Bruce revealed in a press release that the pre-arthritis stems from a broken ankle suffered early in his professional career. Krug has suffered multiple injuries to his left ankle throughout his professional career, including missing the 2012-13 season in January with a sprained ankle while playing for the Providence Bruins. At the NHL level, Krug injured his ankle in the second round of the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Tampa Bay Lightning, then re-injured the injury in the final preseason game before the 2018-19 regular season.
The team said Krug will undergo physical therapy and then be re-evaluated to determine whether surgery is necessary. If Krug needs ankle surgery, he will miss the 2024-25 season. St. Louis could place Krug and his $6.5 million salary for next season on long-term injured reserve.
Krug will be entering the fifth year of a seven-year, $45.5 million contract he signed with the Blues organization in 2020. Coming off a solid nine-year stint with the Boston Bruins, St. Louis softened the blow for the Blues by adding the Livonia, Michigan, native to the team. Alex Pietrangelotraded to the Las Vegas Golden Knights.
In his four years with the Blues organization, Krug has 22 goals and 146 points in 255 regular season games. His points per game average is down slightly from his time with the Bruins, but it's his goals that have dipped the most. Krug scored double figures multiple times during his time with the Northeast, but he didn't score a single goal during his time with the Blues.
St. Louis has been trying to get rid of Krug for the past two years, primarily due to his lack of scoring production and the fact that he missed just over 15% of games due to injury during his four years with the team. Krug infamously blocked a no-trade clause from signing with the Philadelphia Flyers last offseason, but the injury has stalled trade talks this summer.
Krug and his contract will be easier to trade after next season because his no-trade clause will become a 15-team no-trade clause on July 1, 2025. But his current injury only makes him less valuable on the market. For a variety of reasons, Krug and the Blues organization are hopeful the defenseman can avoid surgery altogether and stay healthy through the 2024-25 season.
