After reportedly attempting to trade Torey Krug earlier this summer, how possible is it for the St. Louis Blues to get a deal done?
Back in June, the St. Louis Blues attempted to ship defenseman Torey Krug to the Philadelphia Flyers for center Kevin Hayes. The deal fell through, however, when the 32-year-old Krug invoked his no-trade clause.
The Blues eventually acquired Hayes at the bargain-basement price of a 2024 sixth-round pick, with the Flyers retaining half of his $7.1-million cap hit through 2025-26. Krug, meanwhile, remains in St. Louis.
Signed through 2026-27 with an average annual value of $6.5 million, Krug would be difficult to move even without his no-trade clause. There are currently too many teams with too little cap space for the coming season. He's also battled injuries over the past two seasons, limiting him to 64 games in 2021-22 and 63 contests last season.
The Athletic's Jeremy Rutherford, however, included a Krug trade among his 10 bold predictions for the Blues this season.
Rutherford suggested the Blues' attempt to trade Krug to Philadelphia could create an awkward and distracting situation. He also noted they'd like to get defenseman Scott Perunovich into the lineup as well as free up some much-needed salary cap space.
Acknowledging the difficulties of moving Krug's contract, Rutherford still thinks a trade is possible if the blueliner has a healthy season and a competitive team comes calling.
Such a move, however, could require the Blues to retain a portion of Krug's cap hit. Failing that, it might have to be a dollar-in, dollar-out situation whereby they acquire a comparable contract. Either way, it won't fully address their need to free up cap space.