ST. LOUIS — Torey Krug isn’t expected to play in the NHL again, St. Louis Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said.
The 34-year-old defenseman missed the 2024-25 season after the Blues announced Sept. 3 that he would have left ankle surgery.
“I’m not expecting him to play again,” Armstrong said Tuesday. “Now, he’s hoping that I’m wrong, I’m hoping that I’m wrong and he’s pushing, but the surgery that he had, it was very, very invasive.”
Krug was diagnosed with pre-arthritic changes in his left ankle. The Blues said July 16 that he would be reevaluated in 6-8 weeks after working to rehabilitate the injury through nonsurgical interventions.
It was evident Krug would need a major procedure and known at the time that his playing career might be in jeopardy. The injury is a cumulative result of a bone fracture sustained earlier in his career with the Boston Bruins.
“I don’t really think there’s much uncertainty with Torey,” Armstrong said. “I talked to him. He was at the rink the other day. He’s just getting almost normal, day-to-day living with his leg, his ankle.”
Krug spoke Sept. 4 prior to training camp and was emotional about the potential of his career being over.
“Thirty-three years old and when you miss a whole year of hockey, obviously those things cross your mind,” he said at the time. “I don’t want to look too far ahead, but those are things you definitely think about.
“I’ve always wanted to see my kids watch me play and see how hard I work. I don’t think, regardless of what you’re doing, they’re going to see, even if it’s away from the rink, how hard I work, being a parent, working on the house, doing stuff in the yard, they’re going to see that. I just think it’s in your DNA. It’s tough, but the mental side of it’s just going to be just as tough as the physical side.”
Krug last played April 10 of last season, when he scored a goal and was plus-2 while skating 12:40 in a 5-2 win against the Chicago Blackhawks in St. Louis. He has 483 points (89 goals, 394 assists) in 13 seasons, the first nine with the Bruins before signing a seven-year, $45.5 million contract ($6.5 million average annual value) with the Blues on Oct. 9, 2020. He played for Boston during its run to the 2019 Stanley Cup Final, a seven-game loss to St. Louis.
“You want to win a Stanley Cup,” Krug said. “I’ve had a chance to compete for … I went to two Finals, and you make the playoffs so many times and you understand what comes with the job, all the injuries. There’s other things that obviously come into play that I can make a living for a family and set up your kids. You don’t want to trade that. A lot of great memories for sure.”
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