St. Louis Blues general manager provided quite a few updates during his end-of-season media availability on Tuesday, May 6. The Blues were eliminated in Winnipeg two nights prior and now the focus shifts to the offseason and beyond in St. Louis
Among the updates that Armstrong provided was one on St. Louis Blue defenseman Torey Krug.
The 34-year-old blueliner missed the entire season after it was announced that he'd undergo left ankle surgery. He was initially diagnosed with pre-arthritic changes in his left ankle, the Blues announced last summer, saying that he would be re-evaluated later on in the offseason.
"I'm not expecting him to play again," Armstrong said on Tuesday afternoon. "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 played 778 regular-season games in his NHL career, including 255 in his final four seasons with the Blues. He also played in a full season of playoff games with 82 postseason appearances with Boston (75) and St. Louis (7).
While there can sometimes be changes in a player's status after being dealt a tough blow like this one, it seems to be a very slim chance that Krug could ever play in the NHL again.
"I don't really think there's much uncertainty with Torey," Armstrong continued. "I talked to him. He was at the rink the other day. He's just getting almost normal, day-to-day living with his leg, his ankle."
That's the most important thing for Krug now: ensuring a normal post-playing life after a long career in the NHL