Some pundits expected the St. Louis Blues to shake up their blue-line corps by trading one of their expensive defensemen in a cost-cutting move. On June 26, The Athletic’s Chris Johnston had Blues rearguard Torey Krug at No. 17 on his summer trade board, noting they unsuccessfully attempted to ship him to the Philadelphia Flyers last summer.
That anticipation grew when the Blues signed veteran rearguard Ryan Suter to a one-year contract on July 10. That gave them a logjam of nine defensemen on one-way contracts.
On July 11, The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford pondered the possibility of the Blues shipping out one of those defensemen. He noted that Krug used his no-trade clause last summer to block that deal to the Flyers, indicating a source close to the blueliner said he isn’t willing to waive it this summer.
Talk of trading Krug ended on July 16 when the Blues announced he was diagnosed with pre-arthritic changes in his left ankle, facing the possibility of season-ending surgery. Rutherford noted there wouldn’t be a market for Krug now even if he were to agree to waive his no-trade clause.
The Blues could still attempt to trade one of their defensemen. However, they have Suter, Pierre-Olivier Joseph, and Tyler Tucker under one-year contracts, each worth less than $1 million. They can bury one or two of those in the minors if necessary.
