Jordan Kyrou's name refuses to leave the rumor mill, despite a full No-Trade Clause that kicked in on July 1, and the St. Louis Blues are playing with fire if they force him out of town. The most important question, however, is simple: how would the Blues replace Kyrou's production and impact if he were to leave?
It seems a bit nonsensical to trade your top-line winger. Kyrou consistently puts up 30-plus goals and 70-plus points per season, and has decent underlying stats to go along with it--a slightly above-average Corsi-for percentage of 50.83 and expected Goals-for percentage of 50.2, per Natural Stat Trick. Wingers with that sort of impact are hard to come by, and it's difficult to envision any sort of trade being a "win" for the Blues.
For a bit of perspective, Kyrou's 70 points in 82 games during the 2024-25 season tied with fellow wingers Alex DeBrincat, Rickard Rakell and Cole Caufield. That's top-50 in NHL scoring! If the Blues were to trade Kyrou, those points have got to come from somewhere--and it's hard to envision any available players capable of doing so who are also on a team that Kyrou would be willing to waive his NTC for.
That's all just the regular season, though. The biggest criticism against Kyrou is probably his playoff track record, and how he only scored three points--all goals--against the Winnipeg Jets in seven games during round one of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Historically, Kyrou has 11 goals and 13 points in 28 playoff games with the Blues. Not good enough for a top-line winger.
There are two things to keep in mind, however: first, you have to actually get to the playoffs, and Kyrou's regular season production is a key reason the Blues were able to reach the post season. Second, the Blues did not have the depth to contend with the Jets; if Winnipeg was able to shut down St. Louis's best goal scorer in Kyrou, then the Blues were in trouble. Signing Pius Suter in free agency, internal improvements from Jake Neighbours and Jimmy Snuggerud, and a healthy Dylan Holloway should take some of the pressure off Kyrou and create space for him to score in the playoffs.
Trading Kyrou seems foolish, and the Blues would struggle mightily to replace his regular season production. With some new scoring threats in the fold, Kyrou should be able to score in the playoffs now, too, as teams will have to respect the other shooters on the ice instead of stifling Kyrou. It's difficult to see a world where the Blues win a Kyrou trade and replace his production in one go.