The Washington Capitals are expected to be patrolling the trade market this summer, likely targeting a top-six forward after missing out on Nikolaj Ehlers in free agency. With Connor McMichael potentially ready to start the year down the middle, the Caps could have a hole on the wing high in their lineup if they don’t bring anyone else in.
According to recent offseason rumors, the St. Louis Blues have a player on the market who could fill that hole in high-scoring winger Jordan Kyrou. During a recent Insider Notebook show on Bleacher Report, hockey insider Frank Seravalli outlined the noise surrounding Kyrou and what the Blues could be looking to do.
“The Blues have been open to moving Kyrou,” Servalli said. “Not just because it’s an expensive deal with $50-plus million remaining on it, but also because they’ve got Jimmy Snuggerud in the pipeline ready to play in the NHL, and they think that Snuggerud can take a lot of the production that Kyrou provides.”
Servalli later lists several teams that he believes are still in the market for a player of Kyrou’s calibre this summer, including the Capitals, Detroit Red Wings, Toronto Maple Leafs, Calgary Flames, Vancouver Canucks, New York Rangers, New Jersey Devils, Minnesota Wild, Seattle Kraken, and Los Angeles Kings.
Kyrou, 27, is a three-time 70-point winger in the NHL, recording 70 points (36g, 34a) in 82 games this past season. The former second-round draft pick of the Blues has been a full-time NHL player for the past five seasons, setting a career high of 75 points (27g, 48a) in 74 games during the 2021-22 campaign.
Over the past four seasons, Kyrou has averaged 17:37 of time on ice per game for the Blues, with an average of 2:31 coming on the power play. He is one of the most productive five-on-five forwards in the NHL, recording 2.32 five-on-five points per 60 minutes over the past three seasons. He ranks tied for 29th in the league, ahead of star names like Aleksander Barkov (2.31), Filip Forsberg (2.31), Clayton Keller (2.26), Kirill Kaprizov (2.24), Mikko Rantanen (2.17), and Alex Ovechkin (2.16).
Kyrou has six seasons remaining at a $8.125 million cap hit on his contract. Perhaps more importantly, the contract includes a full no-trade clause, which kicked into effect this summer. The Blues will need Kyrou’s approval before trading him anywhere in the NHL.
The Toronto native does have a few prior connections to the Capitals. Kyrou spent a couple of seasons as junior teammates with Jakob Chychrun in the OHL for the Sarnia Sting, and he has played with Pierre-Luc Dubois in junior tournaments for Canada.
According to PuckPedia, the Capitals have $4.125 million in cap space. After a hypothetical trade for Kyrou, they’d need to move out some salary to accommodate his contract before the season begins.