Blues’ Torey Krug Not Expected To Resume Playing Career

Blues defenseman Torey Krug isn’t expected to play again due to his ankle surgery last summer, general manager Doug Armstrong told reporters today (including Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic).

Krug, 34, was diagnosed with pre-arthritis in his left ankle last summer. After several weeks of evaluation, the Blues and Krug agreed on season-ending surgery. His issues stem from a fractured ankle he sustained seven years ago in the second round of the 2018 playoffs while a member of the Bruins, ending his season and causing him to miss the beginning of the following campaign.

As with any form of arthritis, without surgical correction, Krug could have lost mobility in his ankle entirely. Even with the procedure, Armstrong said Krug had just recently resumed his normal day-to-day activities (via Puck Report on X).

Krug’s career will draw to a close after playing the first four seasons of the seven-year, $45.5MM deal he signed with the Blues in free agency in 2020. Brought in as a replacement for captain Alex Pietrangelo, who signed a much richer long-term contract with the Golden Knights that summer, he was coming off a lengthy run of play as a top-four fixture in Boston and had twice finished top 20 in Norris Trophy voting. At the time of signing, he’d averaged over 20 minutes per game for five straight seasons and recorded at least 40 points every year in that period.

While Krug kept up his consistent offensive production after the move westward, the defensive warts in the 5’9″ lefty’s game began to outweigh his benefits over the past couple of years. Krug’s combined -57 rating across the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons was sixth-worst in the league and third-worst among defensemen, trailing only Cam Fowler and Mario Ferraro – minute-munchers on the worst defensive teams in the league (Ducks, Sharks) during that period.

Still, Krug averaged 40 assists and 47 points per 82 games as a Blue, with most of his production coming at even strength. That wasn’t quite the level he clicked at in Boston, but still legitimately helpful output from the back end.

An undrafted free agent signing out of Michigan State by the Bruins back in 2012, Krug burst onto the scene with four goals in 15 games in the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs to help Boston to its second Finals appearance in three years, although they ultimately lost to the Blackhawks. In a couple of years, he was the team’s No. 2 left-shot rearguard behind Zdeno Chára and led their defense corps in scoring on multiple occasions, including a career-high 14-goal, 59-point season in 2017-18. Krug totaled 337 points in 523 regular-season games for Boston before leaving in free agency, ranking fifth in Bruins franchise history in points among defensemen.

Krug will likely remain on long-term injured reserve for the final two years of his contract at a $6.5MM cap hit before presumably officially retiring upon expiry in 2027. If St. Louis doesn’t want to deal with his contract, they could trade it to a team needing an LTIR cushion to stay cap-compliant.

The Michigan native steps away from his playing days after posting an 89-394–483 scoring line in 778 games, 14th in the league among defensemen since he debuted in the 2011-12 season. He was routinely an electric playoff performer for Boston, including posting 12 points in just 11 games in the 2018 postseason and leading them with 16 assists a year later in their loss to St. Louis in the 2019 Stanley Cup Final. His career 0.70 points per game in the postseason matches Hall-of-Famers Nicklas Lidström and Chris Pronger.

All of us at PHR wish Krug a smooth, continued recovery as he looks to get back to normalcy.

Image courtesy of Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports.