In perhaps the biggest move of the offseason for the St. Louis Blues, GM Doug Armstrong made a deal with the Washington Capitals on June 24th, 2026, to send long-time Blue Jordan Kyrou to Washington in exchange for a package including Connor McMichael and a first-round draft pick.
How will the Blues replace Kyrou's scoring?
Jordan Kyrou has been at the heart of the Blues' offensive game plan for years, so this move will undoubtedly cause some initial discomfort as everyone finds their role in a forward group that has seen some major changes in the last few months. While this presents some exciting opportunities for newer and younger players to step up and take on a larger role on a team that is hoping to take a large step forward in the next NHL season.
Why Kyrou might be replaceable
Jordan Kyrou has been the scapegoat for many shortcomings by the Blues for multiple seasons now. Fans have attacked Kyrou for his less physical style of play, his at times lackluster defense, and more recently his lack of finish. While some of this criticism is inaccurate and baseless, there are definitely valid concerns with Kyrou's play for a while now. After being a perennial 30-goal, 70-point scorer for the Blues from 2021 to 2025, Jordan saw a serious decline in production during the 2025-26 season. He put up just 18 goals and 46 total points in 72 games last year, his worst marks since he became a full-time NHLer.
While a bounce-back season is completely possible, the trend over the last couple of seasons is definitely concerning. Part of that may be due to Kyrou already seeing replacement last year, as guys like Jimmy Snuggerud and Dylan Holloway started to see more time on the top forward line thanks to their high level of play since joining the team. Kyrou was routinely put on the second line for the Blues in the final months of last year, and playing with Dvosrky instead of Thomas as center certainly makes offense harder to come by. All of this points to the fact that the team has already shown they were more than willing to prioritize those young stars over guys like Kyrou - and they've seen success doing it.
Final thoughts
As the Blues look to develop a more dynamic and potent offense in the coming season, Kyrou's absence is something that might not hurt as much as many think. This isn't because the Blues have a perfect Kyrou replacement, or because Kyrou is a bad player, but because next year's team will be more balanced from top to bottom, and the hope is that we will see more scoring by committee because of that. Look for players like Connor McMichael, Mason McTavish, Pius Suter, and Jonatan Berggren to all step up and together more than make up for the missing Kyrou-led offensive production. If these players can become what the team hopes they will be and goaltending can stay at a high level, expect the Blues to be one of the most improved teams in the league after a disappointing 2025-26 campaign.
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