St. Louis Blues’ Torey Krug returns to lineup following foot injury

The St. Louis Blues announced that defenseman Torey Krug will return to the lineup and make his preseason debut Monday night against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

It was announced in early September that Krug sustained a right foot injury while training this off-season and was expected to miss some time but would be re-evaluated on Oct. 1.

Krug, 32, scored seven goals and registered 25 assists for 32 points over 63 games with the Blues in 2022-23. During the 2022-23 campaign, Krug averaged 18:35 of ice time per game and was a crucial member of the Blues defensive core.

“Maybe it’s a little earlier, but obviously, it’s nice to get a couple of live games in action so you feel good come the (season) opener,” said Krug. “Excited that I finally get to put the live skates on in some live action.

“He’s going to be in there tonight, so it’s good,” Blues coach Craig Berube said of Krug. “He wanted to get in there and play. We’ve got three (preseason) games left, and we’ll see how it goes tonight.”

Throughout his career, Krug has continually shown the ability to produce offensively from the back end. The Livonia, Michigan product is entering his fourth season with the Blues organization after signing a monster seven-year, $45 million contract in October 2020. The contract holds an average annual value (AAV) of $6.5 million. Krug has posted 444 points in 701 career NHL regular-season games with the St. Louis Blues and Boston Bruins.

Krug’s name came up in trade talks this offseason when the Blues reportedly had a trade in place to send Krug to the Philadelphia Flyers before he declined to waive his no-trade clause. It was rumoured the trade involved a package consisting of veteran Kevin Hayes, Travis Sanheim and more before the transaction spiralled out. The Blues eventually acquired Hayes from the Flyers in a reworked trade.