St. Louis Blues defenseman Torey Krug will have ankle surgery and miss the 2024-25 NHL season.
The team announced last month that he had been diagnosed with prearthritic changes in his left ankle and would try to rehabilitate the injury without surgery.
The team said the diagnosis is a cumulative result of a bone fracture earlier in his career. Krug, 33, injured his left ankle in a preseason game in 2018 while playing for Boston.
Krug, who was with the Bruins when they lost the Stanley Cup Final to the Blues in seven games in 2019, signed a seven-year contract worth $45.5 million with St. Louis in 2020. The Livonia, Michigan, native has since put up 151 points in 262 regular-season and playoff games.
St. Louis recently added another left-handed shooter to its blue line by signing Edmonton's Philip Broberg to an offer sheet, which the Oilers did not match. Broberg, 23, signed for just over $4.58 million annually over the next two years, and the Blues will get long-term injured reserve salary cap relief this season for Krug's $6.5 million.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.