The St. Louis Blues are coming off a challenging 2023-24 season. The Blues are gearing up to bounce back during the offseason, but they received a potentially crushing injury update on veteran defenseman Torey Krug.
The Blues announced that Krug has been diagnosed with pre-arthritic issues in his ankle, per Frank Seravalli. Krug is hoping for a non-surgical intervention but is out indefinitely. If surgery is required, he will miss the rest of the season.
Here is the full release from the Blues, provided by Seravalli:
“St. Louis Blues President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Doug Armstrong announced today that defenseman Torey Krug has been diagnosed with pre-arthritic changes in his left ankle. The injury is a cumulative result of a bone fracture suffered earlier in his playing career. Krug will work to rehabilitate the injury through non-surgical interventions over the course of the next 6-8 weeks. After that time, he will be re-evaluated to determine whether surgery will be necessary. Krug is officially considered to be out indefinitely and if surgery is required, he will be unavailable for the entirety of the 2024-25 season.”
Hopefully, Torey Krug's ankle injury development will improve over the next several weeks. The 33-year-old defenseman has played a serviceable with the Blues. Krug amassed four goals and 35 assists for 39 points during the 2023-24 season. It is tough for to him deal with such a serious injury, but with the proper recovery, he can return and continue contributing to St. Louis.
Blues make moves to bolster their roster
St. Louis has been tirelessly working to improve the condition of their roster during the 2024 offseason. In late June, the Blues acquired Alexandre Texier in a sign-and-trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Texier played 201 games for the Jackets after making his debut near the end of the 2018-19 season. He finished with 34 goals and 79 points during that span and added 82 penalty minutes.
Texier is not the only one looking to provide additional support to St. Louis. In early July, the Blues locked Pavel Buchnevich down with a six-year, $48 million contract extension. St. Louis originally traded for Buchnevich in 2021, where he made an immediate impact on the team. Since then, he has remained a stout contributor.
During the 2023-24 season, Buchnevich amassed 27 goals and 36 assists. Moreover, he is one of only 22 NHL players with at least 200 points and a plus-45 rating rating since the 2021-22 season. With Buchnevich, Texier, and other returning talent, St. Louis looks to make a jump in 2024-25.
The Blues are coming off a fifth-place showing in the Central Division, where they finished the year with 92 points. St. Louis missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the second consecutive season. The last time the Blues had major postseason success was in 2019 when defeated the Boston Bruins to win the Stanley Cup Final.
The club is going through a period of change, but they look to get back towards the top of the NHL.
Follow Us
Subscribe
