The logjam on the Blues’ defense could look a little lighter.
Defenseman Torey Krug was diagnosed with pre-arthritic changes in his left ankle, the team announced on Tuesday afternoon, and he will be reevaluated in six to eight weeks.
According to the team, “the injury is a cumulative result of a bone fracture suffered earlier in his playing career.†Krug will rehabilitate the injury through non-surgical means across the next six to eight weeks.
If he requires surgery, he would miss the entire 2024-25 season, the team announced.
If Krug is ready to go in eight weeks, that would give him about a week before the Blues begin training camp in mid-September.
Krug and Blues general manager Doug Armstrong are expected to provide a further update on the injury at training camp.
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The announcement by the Blues comes less than a week after they signed veteran defenseman Ryan Suter to a one-year contract with a base salary of $775,000 and potential performance bonuses up to $2.225 million. Suter’s addition gave the Blues nine defensemen on one-way contracts, including Krug.
Krug is entering the fifth year of a seven-year contract with the Blues worth $6.5 million annually.
Should Krug miss the entire 2024-25 season, his absence would affect the Blues in multiple ways.
From a roster perspective, it would clear a path for a left-handed defenseman like Scott Perunovich to receive more ice time, both at even strength and on the power play. In a trickle-down effect, it could also allow Pierre-Olivier Joseph or Tyler Tucker to remain on the NHL roster instead of potentially being waived to AHL affiliate Springfield (Massachusetts).
Perunovich has been blocked by Krug in recent seasons since both players fill similar roles: undersized, offense-first power-play specialists on the left side. Last season, Perunovich played 54 games in the NHL but was also a healthy scratch 21 times.
The Blues re-signed Perunovich to a one-year contract worth $1.15 million earlier this summer. Coincidentally, $1.15 million is the exact amount teams are permitted to bury in the minors without carrying a cap hit on their ledger in the NHL.
Without Krug, it would also set up a top four that could be Nick Leddy playing with Colton Parayko, while Suter plays with Justin Faulk. Faulk was Krug’s primary defensive partner across the past four seasons.
From a cap perspective, Krug’s injury could open up possibilities for the Blues.
Krug would be eligible to go on long-term injured reserve — which requires players to miss at least 10 games and 24 days — and that would allow the Blues to exceed the salary cap. However, with the way the Blues are currently constructed with more than $7 million in cap space, Krug would likely not go on LTIR until the Blues need to create more space.
Teams typically avoid using LTIR more multiple reasons. They do not accrue daily cap space when using LTIR. It makes it tougher to recall players from the AHL because their performance bonuses must be accounted for in addition to their cap hit. If teams are using LTIR, performance bonus overages could impact their salary cap table the next season.
In the short term, the injury diagnosis makes a trade involving Krug unlikely, as teams would want more concrete information regarding his health.
In the long term, if his injury and potential surgery cause the end of Krug’s career, his contract could be an attractive target for teams trying to reach the salary floor in the future, similar to what Arizona had done in the past.
Krug, 33, has struggled with injuries during his four years with the Blues. He only missed five games in each of his first and last season in ºüÀêÊÓƵ, but missed 18 in 2021-22 and 19 in 2022-23.
Last season, Krug missed one game with a lower-body injury, three games with an upper-body injury and he was a healthy scratch once. He missed the start of training camp last year with a right foot injury.