‘I want to be here and wear the Note’

Krug spoke to reporters for the first time since refusing to waive his no-trade clause in the summer, choosing to stay in St. Louis instead of accepting a trade to Philadelphia. The decision means a return to the team that tried to trade him for Krug, and left fences to mend the organization.

“I chose to stay here,” Krug said. “I want to be part of this room and love to play in this city and wear the Blue Note. Something that I am very happy. Obviously, you don’t like to hear about that, I have children, I have a family, a lot to think about. At the end of the day, I want to be here and wear the Note.

Krug will enter the fourth year of a seven-year contract with a $6.5 million cap hit, one of those contracts that limits the Blues’ flexibility on the back end as they try to overhaul their defense from a years ago.

Because of this, Blues general manager Doug Armstrong tried to sell Krug to the Flyers, but Krug exercised his no-trade clause to block it. Krug has a no-trade clause until the 2024-25 season before it becomes a limited no-trade clause where Krug can submit a 15-team no-trade list.

“I signed up to be in St. Louis for seven years, and that’s what I want to do,” said Krug, who has three children under the age of 4. “When you hear something like that, obviously, there’s a lot more that goes into it than what’s on the ice rink, above. You’ve got kids, family, living situation, taking your family and moving, things like that. that.

Asked if there were any conversations with Armstrong after the potential trade to smooth things over, Krug said, “I have a good relationship with Doug.”

“I think very highly of him and he is one of the reasons I chose to come to St. Louis with its winning history and its past,” said Krug. “Obviously, I think we’re working together to keep going and keep going. I’m sure he expects me to be a professional and pull my end of the rope and be a part of this room. I have a good relationship with him, and that’s not going to change.”

Krug, 32, is coming off a down season where he scored just 32 points. That tied his career-low, which occurred during the COVID-shortened, 56-game 2020-21 season. He also played about two fewer minutes per game than last season, and was part of a Blues defense that struggled to defend the net-front.

He said he wants to improve his execution from last season.

“It’s something I try to push a little bit too much, hit a lot of home runs to try and crawl yourself back,” Krug said. “Whether it’s during the season from an individual perspective or as a team, you’re trying to hit home runs and just hope you can find a way back into the playoff picture.”

This season, he entered training camp with a right foot injury that is not expected to affect his regular season availability. He started last week by skating before practice and has progressed to joining practice groups.

Blues coach Craig Berube said the next step is for Krug to put together a full practice (with contact) before predicting when he will be available to play. Krug is expected to play in at least one preseason game before the regular season begins Oct. 12 in Dallas.

“Practice is good, but, at the end of the day, hitting another jersey is another thing,” Krug said. “That’s something I’d like to do, and pass my time.”

The minor foot injury came after Krug missed 18 games in 2021-22 and 19 games in 2022-23. He had shoulder surgery before the season last year, and then broke his foot in December, keeping him out for a month.

Despite his 5-9 height, Krug can always be counted on for his strength. Notably, there was the helmetless hit on Robert Thomas in the 2019 Stanley Cup Final, and his game misconduct last season against Winnipeg.

“If you know anything about me or my history, you know I show up and work every day,” Krug said. “I think my teammates understand that and accept that as well. We push each other to try and win hockey games. I signed up for it. You also sign up for negative things when the things are bad, and that’s part of the job.

Berube: “When we signed him to begin with, we knew how competitive he was. That was a big part of it all.”

When he was with Boston, Krug lost in the Cup Final in 2013 and 2019 and said on Tuesday “there’s not a single day that goes by that I don’t think about that. I’m here to win, and I want to win in the future. “

But he understands the calls for change, both internally and externally.

“You don’t do your job, then people want change, whether it’s your boss or fans,” Krug said. “That’s part of the game. From an individual standpoint, I want to do what’s best for my career and I think the best for my career is to stay in St. Louis and winning hockey games. I am very proud to wear this jersey. It’s great history here, the fans are great. This is a fun jersey to wear and play in. “