ST. LOUIS — All signs were pointing to St. Louis Blues defenseman Torey Krug being unavailable for the 2024-25 season, and now it’s official. The club announced Tuesday that Krug’s left ankle will require surgery that will sidelined him indefinitely.
In July, the Blues revealed that Krug, 33, was dealing with pre-arthritic changes in his ankle that were the cumulative result of bone fractures suffered during his career. They said he’d undergo rehabilitation for the ankle for six to eight weeks and then be re-evaluated to determine whether surgery would be required.
Now that the procedure has been deemed necessary, the Blues know they’ll be without the defenseman for at least the 2024-25 season. This is the fourth year of a seven-year, $45.5 million contract, so Krug will have two more seasons remaining on his contract after missing the upcoming season.
The number of additions to the team’s blue line this offseason were an indication that it was prepping for Krug’s absence. Veteran defenseman Ryan Suter, 39, was signed on July 10, six days after Krug’s condition was announced.
Then last month, the Blues added Philip Broberg, 23, signing the Edmonton Oilers’ restricted free agent to an offer sheet that the Oilers declined to match.
Broberg’s arrival put the number of Blues defensemen on one-way NHL contracts at 10: Nick Leddy, Colton Parayko, Justin Faulk, Matt Kessel, Scott Perunovich, Pierre-Olivier Joseph, Tyler Tucker, Suter, Broberg and Krug. Seven of those 10, including Krug, are left-shot defensemen.
What does this mean for Blues, Krug?
Well, it could mean the end of Krug’s playing career, and if not, perhaps his days in St. Louis.
There’s no guarantee that the surgery will lead to Krug returning to the ice in 2025-26, so that will have to be monitored as he recovers. It’s also been no secret that the Blues were trying to move on from Krug after an ill-fated attempt to trade him to the Philadelphia Flyers in June 2023.
The defenseman invoked his no-trade and nixed the deal, leading to his return to St. Louis last season, when he was third on the team in ice time (21:58 per game) and top among defensemen in scoring (39 points) but also had a team-worst minus-31 rating (12th-worst in the league).
By bringing in Broberg, it was evident that the Blues were headed in a new direction, and it appears that they’ll address Krug’s future with the organization when the situation with his health becomes clearer.
What does this mean for Blues’ salary cap?
According to PuckPedia, the Blues have a projected salary-cap hit of $85.8 million. That leaves them about $2.2 million below the NHL’s $88 cap ceiling for 2024-25.
The $85.8 million cap hit includes Krug’s annual average value of $6.5 million.
As the Blues’ roster situation sits now, they don’t necessarily need to use Krug’s cap space on another addition. But if they want to make an addition and it costs more than the $2.2 million in space they have, they can enter LTIR (Long-Term Injured Reserve) and surpass the cap ceiling by $6.5 million (Krug’s cap hit) for as long as he’s out.
It’s not known if the Blues would have any interest in spending above the cap, especially during a re-tool. But it’s an option that would be available if they spent to the cap at some point during the season.
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(Photo: Bob DeChiara / USA Today)
