MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. — Torey Krug always knew something was there when, by his account, he was shoved into the boards from behind during the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The defenseman felt that with time, healing and rehabilitation that the left ankle injury he sustained, including fractured bones, against the Tampa Bay Lightning as a member of the Boston Bruins would eventually subside.
Six years later and finally coming to a head, the 33-year-old St. Louis Blues defenseman realized it wasn’t going to get any better without surgery — an almost unprecedented surgery, one in which was the absolute last resort.
Krug won’t play in 2024-25 after being diagnosed with a pre-arthritic condition in his left ankle that will require surgery, fusing the ankle bone together with screws, a procedure that’s not all-too common with results different for each individual.
The realization came to ahead Wednesday when Krug, who played in a Blues season-high 77 games last season, spoke for the first time since the team announced July 16 what he was dealing with and how tough it’s been.
“It was one of those things where over time it got worse,” Krug said. “Anyone with arthritis knows that there’s some good days and there’s some bad days. I was able to tolerate it for so long and we did many things to help with that, whether it was different treatments. I’ve done injections to try and help with the pain and was able to do that and for a long time to be honest, playing hockey was one of those things that helped with it because I was in a boot and you’re provided a lot of support that way. For the most part, it was a lot of the off-ice stuff that gave me a lot of issues. When it got to the point when being on the ice was starting to hurt it a lot, that’s when red flags were going up that there might be things there to take care of. It’s tough. I don’t know what a healthy ankle feels like. As far as pain level goes, it’s always there. Like I said, some days are better than other days.”
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So putting on a hockey skate was tolerable but taking it off wasn’t. Not an ideal situation, and even though Krug was able to play in the most regular-season games last season (77) since playing in 81 with the Bruins in 2016-17, having to manage discomfort and ultimately, pain, finally broke the veteran down.
“Last year I was able to manage it a little bit better, and this summer for so long, I was able to find different exercises and sit on the bike a…