The St. Louis Blues have traded winger Jordan Kyrou to the Washington Capitals for forward Connor McMichael, prospect Milton Gastrin and the No. 16 pick in Friday’s NHL Draft, the team announced Tuesday.

Kyrou, 28, whose contract goes through 2031 with an $8.125 million cap hit, was the Blues’ leading goal scorer in each of the three seasons before this past one, with 104 goals in 243 games during that stretch. He had 18 goals and 46 points in 72 games in 2025-26.

McMichael, 25, was the No. 25 pick in the 2019 draft. He scored 14 goals and 46 points in 78 games this season after scoring 26 and 57 in a breakout 2024-25 season. The 6-foot, 180-pound forward has 67 goals and 154 points in 315 NHL games. He has played both wing and center but has a career 43 percent faceoff percentage. He’s a restricted free agent with arbitration rights.

Gastrin, 19, is a 6-foot, 185-pound forward. He was the No. 37 pick in the 2025 draft and played last season for MoDo Hockey in the Swedish Hockey League, scoring 10 goals and 24 points in 39 games.

The Blues now own four picks in the first round of Friday’s draft: Nos. 11, 15, 16 and 29.

Kyrou has five seasons left on his contract and a full no-trade clause. There was no salary retained by the Blues, so his contract is completely off the books.

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What the Capitals are getting in Kyrou

For Kyrou, 2025-26 was a down season, statistically, leading to a lot of questions about whether the Blues would trade him and receive good value.

After being the Blues’ leading goal scorer for three straight seasons (37, 31 and 36 goals), Kyrou dipped below 20 for the first time since 2020-21. His ice time dropped the past couple of seasons, too, and his shooting percentage in 2025-26 (10.4 percent ) was below his career average (13.2).

Kyrou has been a bit of an enigma in his eight-year career with St. Louis. When he’s playing to his capability, he’s a lightning-fast skater with a good shot from outside. But when he’s not, Kyrou isn’t using his speed to put anxiety in opponents defending him.

Kyrou has improved his defense overall. In 2022-23, he was minus-38, among the worst in the league, but raised that to plus-23 in 2024-25. In 2025-26, he fell to minus-5 in a season when the Blues gave up 3.1 goals per game.

Still, Kyrou’s inconsistencies have led to continued calls for accountability from multiple coaches, including current Blues coach Jim Montgomery’s making the winger a healthy scratch this season.

The Blues have been attempting to break up a core that includes Kyrou and Robert Thomas (who was once traded for McMichael in juniors). They weren’t willing to accept any offer to part ways with Kyrou, but it became inevitable that it could happen before the start of the 2026-27 season. — Jeremy Rutherford

What the Blues are getting in McMichael

McMichael is a little younger than Kyrou, a little cheaper and more versatile. But there is a lot more uncertainty in what his true value is. If the Blues are getting the 2024-25 version of McMichael, then there’s a lot of potential here. He was a part of the Capitals’ second line that excelled against top competition at both ends of the ice.

After that breakthrough play on the wing, McMichael looked like he was on a really promising path, with comps like Viktor Arvidsson, Brandon Hagel, Kyle Palmieri and Kyle Okposo. But his 2025-26 just didn’t live up to the hype — not at wing or back at his natural position of center. Not only did his scoring tick down, but so did his two-way impact. The Capitals generated fewer chances and allowed more back in his minutes. It doesn’t fall solely on his shoulders, though. Washington took a step back as a whole, and that line was missing a key player in Pierre-Luc Dubois for a lot of the season.

Still, as a result of the down season, McMichael’s range of outcomes has trended down. Now, his top matches include Tanner Pearson, Joffrey Lupul and Michael Grabner. The good news is that his offensive microstats still showed some promise. Though his puck touches in his own zone were a lot riskier, he still contributed a lot of primary scoring chance contributions. So that’s what the Blues have to build on.

That down year should help keep costs in check, too. As it stands, McMichael is projected by The Athletic’s model to be worth a market value of $5.6 million per year, on average, over the next five years. AFP Analytics projects a contract for him as an RFA this summer that’s a bit higher, with a $6.46 million AAV. If he rebounds, he should be worth it. If not, a short-term deal projects to be more cost-effective, at two years worth $4.75 million per year. — Shayna Goldman

What the Blues are getting in Gastrin

Gastrin was my seventh-ranked Capitals prospect and has been a prominent part of Sweden’s 2007 age group, including as captain.

He has size, he’s a natural center, he’s a strong enough skater (it can look a little sloppy, but he generates decent power with it regardless) and he plays well off his linemates, offering a responsible and heady two-way game. He protects pucks and gets in and out of stops and starts below the goal line well. His habits and details are there at an early age. He’s not a dynamic offensive player, but he handles it well, makes plays around the net and below the goal line and seems to really understand timing and spacing.

Gastrin also has a natural shot and release that I expect him to show more of as he learns to attack for himself more. Add in a good stick around the net, a willingness to drive and play in the middle third, an ability to go get pucks, and a lot of the little plays he makes, and there’s a likable and projectable NHL player there. I do wonder a little about his upside, but he looks like a projectable bottom-sixer. — Scott Wheeler

What the trade means for the Blues

Well, whatever happens, it won’t be Kyrou’s fault. Though he certainly had shortcomings, he was a lightning rod for criticism.

When he scored a career-high 37 goals in 2022-23, the bar was set for his offensive standard. Defensively, though, he was minus-38 that season, and that had to improve.

It did in 2024-25, as there was much more balance in Kyrou’s game, with 36 goals, 70 points and a plus-23 rating. If this were the player the Blues would see on a regular basis, they could certainly live with that.

But in a 2025-26 season in which many of the Blues’ top players failed to produce, Kyrou was atop the list, and with Alexander Steen taking over as general manager, it seemed more likely than any time in the past that the enigmatic winger could be dealt.

So this move wasn’t surprising, but by making it, the Blues could be putting themselves in a position where a limited offense is now without one of its top producers over the past five years.

Can Jimmy Snuggerud, who had 21 goals as a rookie last season, help make up some of the difference? Dylan Holloway? Pavel Buchnevich?

That won’t be known until the Blues get into the 2026-27 season, but this much is known after Tuesday’s headline trade: The plan was for Kyrou not to be on the roster at that point, and it’s a risk the club was more than willing to take.

They now have a winger in McMichael who can help in the top nine and another prospect in Gastrin to add to their pool. And with the No. 16 pick in this year’s draft included in the deal, they possess four first-round picks, which common sense would suggest there are more moves coming. — Rutherford