St. Louis Blues forward Jordan Kyrou has been at the top of many offseason trade boards as a potential trade candidate. Despite the unsuccessful acquisition of New York Islanders defenseman Noah Dobson, fans shouldn't count out a Kyrou trade yet.
Kyrou signed an eight-year $65 million contract in September 2022 that bought out two of his restricted free agent years. His contract holds an average annual value (AAV) of $8.125 a season until his contract expires at the end of the 2030-31 season.
Kyrou has been the Blues' best and most electric scorer since the 2021-22 season. He has scored at least 27 goals since that year and has scored at least 30 goals in each of the last three seasons. He was one goal shy of tying his career high of 37 last season.
The former second-round pick has also been a proven playoff performer in his career. In 28 career playoff games, Kyrou has 11 goals and 13 points to his name.
The question to ask yourself is why the Blues would want to trade a guaranteed 30-goal scorer who is locked up under contract until 2031. As part of Kyrou's contract, a full no-trade clause kicks in on July 1, leaving it more difficult to move on from Kyrou after that date.
St. Louis was linked to Dobson for most of the offseason, and Kyrou's name was thrown around as a potential return by insiders around the league. Now it is difficult to look out into the trade market and find a player with Dobson's value.
The Blues have also been linked to defensemen Bowen Byram this summer. But his history as an NHL player does not compare to that of Kyrou or even Dobson. Byram is just 24 years old and is a former fourth overall pick from the Colorado Avalanche.
For his career, Byram has skated in 246 games and has recorded 33 goals, 77 assists for 110 career points. The young defender helped the Avalanche win the Stanley Cup in 2022, posting nine points throughout their 20-game playoff run.
The lack of big names on the trade market begs the question of why the Blues would want to trade Kyrou, even if the no-trade clause is an issue.
St. Louis has a great pipeline of young wingers who project to score with regularity like Kyrou has throughout his career. The closest prospect who is ready to take that leap could be Zach Bolduc, who scored 19 goals and added 17 assists in 72 games this year.
First-round phenom Jimmy Snuggerud is also a player who projects to be an elite-level goal scorer in the NHL as well. Still, he only has seven regular-season games and seven postseason games under his belt in his career. It is too soon and too much of a risk to tell if he can produce at the same level as Kyrou.
General manager Doug Armstrong does, however, have a history of pulling trades that seemingly come out of nowhere to acquire great talent that had not been rumored before. With the reports circulating that the Blues are interested in defensemen, it seems like most of the offense is safe for now.
If Kyrou gets dealt, Armstrong needs to be sure he is getting elite talent in return. It is important not to mess this trade up. However, when was the last time Armstrong pulled off a bad trade for the St. Louis Blues?