Player Profile: Torey Krug

Torey Krug returned to the St. Louis Blues’ lineup on April 12 against his former team, the Boston Bruins, at TD Garden. Krug sustained an upper-body injury on March 22 and had been listed as week-to-week since then.

Krug went undrafted in the 2012 NHL Draft. However, he was one of college hockey’s most sought-after free agents after signing an entry-level contract for three years and $5,112,500 million with Boston and achieving success at Michigan State University. He played at MSU for three years from 2009 to 2012. He was recognized for four achievements in All-CCHA Rookie Team (2010), All-CCHA First Team (2011, 2012), All-CCHA Best Offensive Defenseman (2011, 2012), and CCHA Player of the Year (2012). In 2011-12, he was the top-scoring defenseman in the CCHA, shared the CCHA’s scoring title with the University of Notre Dame’s T.J. Tynan, and became the first defenseman in the CCHA to win a scoring title since Western Michigan University’s Wayne Gagner in 1986-87. Krug graduated from MSU with a bachelor’s degree in political science in May 2017.

Krug played for the Bruins from 2011-12 and 2012-20. He spent 2012-13 with the AHL’s Providence Bruins, where he suffered a sprained ankle until mid-January ‘13. He seemed to have benefited from the mid-season break though. I remember talking about him and his ankle with my very first boss, the late Scott Travis, at Scott Travis Sports News. Travis passed away on September 15, 2017, after his battle with cancer. We all start somewhere, and I was a late bloomer compared to most journalists, so I learned a lot about journalism from him.

Krug accomplished a lot of records in Boston in the regular season and the postseason. Most recently, he became the first player in Bruins history to record four points in a Stanley Cup Final game after Game 3 of the 2019 Stanley Cup Finals against the Blues. He became an unrestricted free agent after 2019-20.

On the first day of NHL free agency, Krug left the Bruins to sign a seven-year, $45.5 million contract with the Blues on October 9, 2020. He may not be on the top ten list of best defensemen anymore, but he’s still one of the best defensemen, in my opinion. He’s just 5’9” making him an undersized, two-way defenseman that can move the puck extremely well. He also has excellent passing ability. He also seems to be a nice guy from the times I’ve run into him in postgame press conferences.

Torey was born in Livonia, Michigan on April 12, 1991. He’s one of four sons born to Kyle and Cheryl Krug. Adam played college hockey at Adrian College, Matt played college hockey at Robert Morris University and Wayne State University and Zak played college volleyball at Siena Heights University.

Krug admired Detroit Red Wings star forward Pavel Datsyuk and his play growing up in Michigan. He once stated that Datsyuk was “the most well-rounded player on the ice.” He also admired then-Bruins teammate Zdeno Chara and modeled his defensive play after him.
Krug has been married to his wife, Melanie Flood, since 2013. Flood was his college girlfriend at MSU. They share two daughters together. Krug identifies as a Christian. He once discussed his faith in a video by the Hockey Ministries.