Blues Defenseman Could Miss Entire Season

St. Louis Blues defenseman Torey Krug has been diagnosed with pre-arthritic charges in his ankle.

Mar 11, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; St. Louis Blues defenseman Torey Krug (47) gets set for a face-off during the third period against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports / Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

St. Louis Blues defenseman Torey Krug has been diagnosed with pre-arthritic charges in his left ankle, general manager Doug Armstrong announced on Tuesday.

The Blues say Krug's injury is "a cumulative result of a bone fracture suffered earlier in his playing career." As a member of the Boston Bruins, Krug suffered a left-ankle injury during a playoff series against the Tampa Bay Lightning in May of 2018, then suffered another left-ankle injury during a preseason game against the Philadelphia Flyers that October. It's not clear what exactly those injuries were, but it's possible that they are the previous injuries the Blues referenced.

Krug, 33, will work to rehabilitate the injury through non-surgical methods over the next 6-8 weeks, after which he will be re-evaluated. If surgery is required, the veteran defenseman will miss the entire 2024-25 season.

St. Louis signed Krug in 2020 as one of the top free agents that offseason. In four seasons with the Blues, he has played 255 games and scored 146 points (22 goals, 124 assists) and accumulated 154 penalty minutes. Notably, he has a -57 rating over the past two seasons.

Interestingly, Krug was nearly traded to Philadelphia last offseason, but invoked his no-trade clause to remain in St. Louis. He spoke publicly about the situation in September.

“Obviously I chose to stay here. I want to be part of this room and love playing in this city and wearing the Blue Note so it’s something I’m very excited about," Krug said, per The Athletic's Jeremy Rutherford. "You don’t like hearing things like that. I have kids, I have a family. But I want to be here and wear the Note.

“I’m here to play hockey. I signed up to be in St. Louis for 7 years and that’s what I want to do. When you hear stuff like that, there’s more that goes into it than what’s on the surface…at the end of the day, I want to be here. So that’s all I can really say about that.”

The Blues recently signed veteran defenseman Ryan Suter last week, a move that now makes much more sense given Krug's diagnosis.

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