Blues star forward linked to several teams including the Oilers
Photo credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images
The Edmonton Oilers are being described as frontrunners for Jordan Kyrou. The math tells a different story.
Stefen Rosner reported this week that the Edmonton Oilers, Seattle Kraken, and Anaheim Ducks have all held recent conversations with the St. Louis Blues regarding Kyrou.
Most coverage treats Edmonton as the obvious destination.
Kyrou, 28, carries an $8.125 million cap hit through 2031 and holds a full no-trade clause.
He posted 18 goals and 46 points in 72 games this past season, a difficult stretch that included healthy scratches.
His underlying numbers remain elite - St. Louis controlled nearly 59% of expected goals with Kyrou on the ice at 5-on-5.
The asking price reflects that.
A league executive told Bruce Garrioch that the Blues expect a high-end player, a top prospect, and a first-round pick in return.
Edmonton gave up their 2026 first to acquire Jake Walman and their 2027 first for Colton Dach.
Their remaining chips are a 2026 second and a 2028 first. That is not close to what St. Louis is asking.
The GM transition nobody is talking about
Doug Armstrong hands the St. Louis Blues GM role to Alexander Steen on July 1. That shift is the actual story driving this market.
Steen is not inheriting Armstrong's emotional attachment to Kyrou - he is inheriting a rebuild.
His incentive is to maximize return on the most valuable asset available, not to accommodate the team that wants Kyrou most badly.
Why Anaheim and Seattle are more dangerous than they look
The Anaheim Ducks and Seattle Kraken are precisely what a new GM of a rebuilding team wants on the other end of the phone.
Both clubs carry surplus draft capital and young roster players that align with what Steen actually needs.
Kyrou reportedly refused a move to Seattle before the March deadline. Under different circumstances, with a different seller, that conversation could go differently.
Also read on House Of Hockey :
Sharks trade their first-round pick in upcoming draft to Sabres in surprising deal
Sharks trade their first-round pick in upcoming draft to Sabres in surprising deal