The St. Louis Blues got some surprising news this week when the report broke that Torey Krug might miss the entire season due to “pre-arthritic changes” in his ankle. Krug is only certain to miss 6-8 weeks. Still, given the early reports that his entire season might be in jeopardy, plus the signing of veteran left-handed defenseman Ryan Suter last week, it seems the Blues are preparing for the worst.
Krug was already at the center of much discussion in St. Louis and elsewhere (including his former hometown, Boston). But now, this news creates tons of uncertainty both for his future and the future of the Blues’ roster. Three big questions emerge immediately: what does Krug’s future hold, what will the Blues’ defense look like in 2024-25, and what moves might the Blues make now that they could have more cap flexibility?
Krug’s Future Cloudy at Best
Reading too much into what isn’t said in a press report is always dangerous. But the wording of this week’s report about Krug is certainly concerning. Introducing the idea of a season-ending injury so early certainly indicates that that outcome is at least a strong possibility. And if Krug misses the entire 2024-25 season with a degenerative injury like pre-arthritis, his future beyond that is clearly also in question.
Krug is 33 and will be 34 before the 2024-25 season ends. He will have two seasons left on his contract. Significantly, his full no-trade clause drops to a modified-no trade clause (M-NTC, 15-teams) after this season as well. Fans will remember reports that Krug blocked a trade to the Philadelphia Flyers last summer. When his NTC drops to 15 teams, the Blues will have added flexibility; however, will anyone still have interest in a 34-year-old, $6.5 million defenseman with significant injury issues?
Related: Blues Fans Should Hope for Krug Rebound Season
If there are no trade partners, the Blues might consider taking advantage of Krug’s injury by burying his contract on long-term injured reserve, which would effectively neutralize the associated cap hit. It’s cynical, but in a salary cap league, teams make similar moves all the time. The Blues don’t seem likely to spend to the cap ceiling this season, but that might change in one or two years when they hope to be more competitive. The $6.5 million Krug is owed makes a huge difference. It’s far too early to tell whether the Krug has played his last game in a Blues uniform, but between the injury and the trade rumors, it’s possible.
Blues’ 2024-25 Defense Isn’t Pretty
Krug has never fully caught on in St. Louis, but he was still a key piece of the Blues’ top four and an important player on the team’s power play. Now, without him, the probable defensive pairings look something like this:
| Right Side | Left Side |
| Colton Parayko | Nick Leddy |
| Justin Faulk | Ryan Suter |
| Matthew Kessel | Scott Perunovich |
Speaking frankly, it isn’t a pretty picture. The Blues were already third-worst in the NHL in expected goals for percentage (xGF%) at 5-on-5, finishing at 44.09% last season. They allowed the fifth-most expected goals against (xGA) at all strengths. Parayko and Leddy were worst and second-worst in xGA at 5-on-5 amongst all defensemen.
Suter might be a sneaky good add for the Blues. At 39, and coming off of a brutal playoff appearance, there clearly wasn’t a ton of demand for his services. But his defensive metrics for the regular season graded out better than average — more than can be said of much of the Blues’ defense. The Blues’ signing of Pierre-Olivier Joseph seems more like the team taking a flyer on a young player who might still develop into something — similar to what they have done in the recent past with Kasperi Kapanen and Jakub Vrana.
The top four are certainly cheaper with Suter than with Krug, should the latter wind up on LTIR. And it probably isn’t worse, even if it’s not distinctly better. The remaining defensemen (Joseph, Tucker, Kessel, and Perunovich) will likely all rotate frequently as the Blues try to assess which younger defenders might have a long-term future with the team (given his strong performance as a rookie, and his right-handedness, it’s safe to assume Kessel has an inside track at the most-consistent role). But there is no argument that what was already one of the worst defenses in the league has gotten considerably better this offseason. Blues fans should expect more head-scratching defending that is often painful to watch in the 2024-25 season.
Could Armstrong Make Moves
The last question to answer is: if Blues’ general manager Doug Armstrong believes Krug will miss the full season, might he make a move to use the $6.5 million in cap space to improve the team this season? Even without Krug on LTIR, the Blues — a team that has historically spent to the salary cap ceiling pretty consistently — have a little over $7.3 million in available space and only Nikita Alexandrov to sign. If Krug is destined for LTIR, the Blues would have the flexibility to do pretty much anything on the trade market. So could Armstrong swing a shocking move for a young superstar on the trade block, like Martin Necas of the Carolina Hurricanes, or even the Toronto Maple Leafs’ embattled hometown hero, Mitch Marner?
It’s never fun to pour cold water onto trade speculation, but the truth is, such a move is doubtful. Though Necas and Marner would both clearly fit into the Blues’ long-term plans and make the team better immediately, neither is guaranteed to be dealt, and both would require the Blues to send significant futures the other way. Armstrong would be foolish to trade his first-round pick ahead of a season with so much uncertainty. The team is in retool mode this season with our without another star addition, and unless Armstrong has information we don’t, there is no reason to believe that Krug’s cap hit won’t be back on the books in future seasons.
Probably, the Blues just aren’t a team that will spend to the cap this season. And given that a playoff appearance is unlikely, that makes sense. Blues owner Tom Stillman has been consistently aggressive when the team is competitive, but in a smaller market, he will probably be happy to save some money if the team is retooling anyway.
With that said, if Krug’s injury lingers and keeps him on LTIR beyond this season, all bets are off. Entering the 2025-26 season, both of the Blues’ top offensive prospects, Dalibor Dvorský and Jimmy Snuggerud, will likely be NHL regulars. While neither will be a finished product, the team will likely expect playoffs to be a serious discussion by then. If Krug isn’t back or has been traded, Armstrong will likely use the cap space to his advantage. But it probably is too late in the offseason for him to do much right now. Of course, statements like that are made to look foolish in the future.
Krug’s Health Is Central
Of course, everyone hopes that Krug’s ankle will recover and he will resume a storied playing career. But whether he recovers or not, his health is a central issue for the Blues going forward. He has not fit with the team at any point, and his signing is one of the bigger mistakes Armstrong has made since the 2019 Stanley Cup victory. That isn’t to deride Krug — it simply has not been a good fit; however, if his contract is neutralized by LTIR for the foreseeable future, it opens up roads that the Blues could not have anticipated before.
