When you're one of a team's two highest paid players, as Jordan Kyrou is with his $8.125-million cap hit, matched only by Robert Thomas's contract, there are certain expectations that come with the price tag. In Kyrou's case, it's putting up points and driving play; this season, he's really only done the latter with a team-leading 63.06 expected Goals-for percentage (xGF%) and 55.81 Corsi-for percentage (CF%) at 5-on-5, per Natural Stat Trick. The points, however--and goals--have been hard to come by.
Hopefully, getting on the board last night after a six-game goal drought sparks a scoring streak for the St. Louis Blues' best winger. If the Blues want to have any hope of turning their season around, now a few days after the American Thanksgiving cutoff mark, they need Kyrou playing like he's one of the top players on a contending hockey club. Seven goals, seven assists, 14 points and ever diminishing ice time through 24 games played are not the qualities of a star-level forward.
The good news, for Kyrou and the Blues, is that his underlying play has been outstanding. Of all forwards in the NHL with over 300 minutes of ice time this season, Kyrou's 63.06 xGF% is the highest in the league. So what's the problem with Kyrou?
First and foremost, Kyrou's shooting percentage is 11.3--the lowest of his career since his 2019-20 Calder season--while his career average is 13.5%. Second, his PDO is the fifth-worst on the Blues, with the team shooting 9.09 with Kyrou on the ice and getting an abysmal .872 save percentage (SV%). Then, there's the ice time; it seems like there's a disconnect between Kyrou and head coach Jim Montgomery, who seems reticent to trust Kyrou with a heavier workload. We've seen Kyrou handle heavier usage and excel but, for some reason Montgomery isn't giving him the minutes.
The underlying play is there, but a mix of bad luck and questionable coaching decisions have created a perfect storm for Kyrou to appear like he's underperforming. Maybe scoring a goal last night gets him back on the right track.