There are 15 players in the National Hockey League who were unable to make a deal as Restricted Free Agents and now must go through Arbitration. This is going to be a wild ride over the next couple of weeks.
One of them is a player who was recently acquired by the St. Louis Blues in the trade with Washington for Jordan Kyrou. That RFA is Connor McMichael, whose $2.1 million AAV over the last two seasons just expired.
Now, a third party has to step in and see if a deal can be struck between Blues General Manager Alexander Steen and McMichael.
Let's talk about it.
Significant pay bump
It is safe to say that $2.1 million per season is not going to cut it for McMichael, and rightfully so. In that two-year contract that just ended, the centerman appeared in 160 games and potted 40 goals and added 63 assists for 103 points. That is a pretty serious haul, and definitely worth more than $2.1 million.
The Blues have $10.2 million worth of cap space, and they have expiring contracts of Jimmy Snuggerud and Logan Mailloux at the end of next season. Yes, there is a pretty big salary cap jump again for next offseason, but blowing a bunch of money on McMichael could come back to haunt the Blues.
Shaky start?
With a deal being unable to be reached, it begs the question if this relationship between McMichael and the Blues front office is off to a shaky start. Not to mention, McMichael was the first of four notorious centers that were drafted or traded for at the 2026 NHL Draft.
McMichael might feel some type of way that he now has to fight for a competitive roster spot. He will be offered a contract, and his place on the second line is nearly a guarantee, but Mason McTavish and a slew of prospects are going to be gunning for him. That might not be what he signed up for initially, and this arbitration hearing could be a form of payback.
It is clear that the Blues won the trade for Kyrou to Washington by getting back McMichael. He is going to be a solid pickup, and his impact will be felt right away on this offensively deficient team.
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