How Torey Krug Reportedly Impacting Blues-Flyers Trade

The St. Louis Blues reportedly gave Torey Krug a no-trade clause when they signed him, and now it appears that decision is a major reason for stalling a potential blockbuster with the Philadelphia Flyers.

According to reports, the Blues and Flyers found common ground on a pretty big trade. The Athletic reported that the rebuilding Flyers were in the process of sending both forward Kevin Hayes and defenseman Travis Sanheim to St. Louis, with Philly eating a good chunk of Hayes’ cap hit that exceeds $7 million. That same report indicated the Blues would send a first-round pick and a defenseman back to the Flyers, but that D-man invoked his no-trade clause.

It’s easier to list the Blues defensemen who don’t have no-trade protection at this point (per CapFriendly), with a handful of blueliners able to dictate their fate in a potential trade. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman on Sunday confirmed it was Krug who was holding up the deal, adding Krug was “leaning towards not waiving his no-trade clause.”

That doesn’t exactly mean the deal is dead, though. The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta over the weekend mentioned the possibility of the Flyers flipping Krug upon acquiring him in the deal with St. Louis. That makes an already complicated situation even murkier, of course. That could be a remedy for getting Krug to approve a deal, but it obviously brings even more factors into play when dealing with other teams and the players on their rosters.

Krug probably isn’t a very popular man in Philadelphia at the moment, but it was his right to negotiate trade protection, and it’s his right to use it. Given the Flyers’ direction, it’s easy to see why from a competitive standpoint a player like Krug might not want to play there. In addition to potentially moving Hayes and Sanheim, the Flyers already shipped out top-four defenseman Ivan Provorov to Columbus as part of an apparent rebuild in the recently reshuffled Philly front office.