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Former Bruins D Torey Krug’s playing career likely over due to injury
"The surgery that he had, it was very, very invasive."
A former stalwart on the Bruins’ blue line might have to hang up his skates due to injury.
After missing the entire 2024-25 season after undergoing an invasive ankle procedure, Torey Krug’s pro career is likely over due to the effects of the surgery.
“I don’t think there’s much uncertainty with Torey,” St. Louis Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said when asked for an update on Krug this week. “I talked to him, he was at the rink the other day, he’s just almost getting [back] to normal day-to-day living with his leg [and] ankle, so I’m not expecting him to play again.
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“I’m hoping and he’s hoping I’m wrong, and he’s pushing, but the surgery that he had, it was very, very invasive.”
Krug, who spent the first nine seasons of his NHL career with the Bruins before signing in free agency with St. Louis in 2020, said that his ankle had been a lingering issue for years before going under the knife.
Speaking ahead of St. Louis’ training camp in September, Krug said he first suffered the injury while playing in the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs with Boston, with surgery standing as the only remedy before life-long complications were going to come into play. He was initially diagnosed with “pre-arthritic changes” in his left ankle in July 2024.
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“I fractured my ankle six years ago now in the playoffs when I was with Boston. Over the last few years, it’s starting to get worse and worse,” Krug told reporters. “I’ve been able to manage it for so long now. Last year was definitely tough, trying to manage the pain level. This summer, I wasn’t really able to do the things I needed to do to prepare for the NHL season, a lot of pain and stuff.”
If Krug can’t return to game action, he will likely spend the last two seasons of his seven-year, $45.5 million contract with St. Louis on long-term injured reserve.
Krug was a dynamic playmaker on Boston’s D corps from 2011-20, appearing in 523 games with Boston and scoring 67 goals and 270 assists.
The 34-year-old defenseman played a key role in Boston’s last two runs to a Stanley Cup Final.
A poised playmaker with a booming shot, the 5-foot-9 defenseman provided a spark in his first taste of the postseason in 2013. He scored four goals and recording six points over 15 playoff games that year.
He was a menace in Boston’s second-round series against Henrik Lundqvist and the Rangers during that playoff push, scoring four goals over five games.
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Krug was arguably Boston’s most impactful defenseman during Boston’s 2019 Cup run, scoring 18 points (12 on the power play) over 24 games.
Had Boston defeated St. Louis in the Stanley Cup Finals that spring, the clip of a helmet-less Krug trucking over Robert Thomas in Game 1 against the Blues might have been the defining moment from that postseason.
Krug’s 337 career points ranks fifth all-time among Bruins defensemen — trailing only Ray Bourque, Bobby Orr, Zdeno Chara, and Brad Park. The former undrafted free agent out of Michigan State is also the Bruins’ all-time leading scorer among American skaters.
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