Bruins after dark

Torey Krug may have taken his final NHL shift—and this time, the signs are tough to ignore.

The St. Louis Blues defenseman, who missed the entire 2024-25 season after undergoing ankle surgery, is no longer being counted on to return. At least not by Blues general manager Doug Armstrong.

“I’m not expecting him to play again,”

Armstrong said, offering a grim update.

“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 is still under contract through 2026-27, but at this point, the concern isn’t about whether he can play top-pairing minutes again.

The concern is whether he can just go about a regular day without pain.

Armstrong, who recently met with Krug in person, said the defenseman is working toward simply feeling normal again.

“I talked to him. He was at the rink the other day,” Armstrong explained. “He’s just getting almost normal, day-to-day living with his leg, his ankle.”

This wasn’t some fresh injury either.

The root of Krug’s ankle problems dates back years—back to his Boston days.

The fracture that started it all happened with the Bruins, and over time, wear and tear led to early signs of arthritis.

The September surgery was done not just to save his season, but to prevent worse issues down the line.

It’s a tough break for a player who made a career out of proving people wrong. Krug, undrafted out of Michigan State, signed with the Bruins in 2012 and quickly carved out a spot.

He wasn’t the biggest guy on the ice—far from it—but his edge, his smarts, and his ability to move the puck gave Boston something special on the back end.

He became a fan favorite.

By 2019, during Boston’s run to the Stanley Cup Final, Krug led the league with 18 assists in the playoffs.

It was the high point of a career built on grit and vision.

In 2020, Krug left Boston for St. Louis on a seven-year deal. He’s played four of those seasons. Whether he gets a fifth is now very much in doubt.

There’s still a sliver of hope.

Krug hasn’t ruled out a return. Neither has Armstrong. But the tone’s changed.

The questions being asked now aren’t about training camp or power play units. They’re about walking, stairs, sleep—normal life.

For a guy like Krug, that’s got to sting. But knowing him, he’s not going down without a fight.

If this is it, he walks away with no regrets. And if it’s not, it’ll be one hell of a comeback.