Earlier this offseason, the St. Louis Blues locked up part of their future when they signed Robert Thomas to an eight-year, $65M contract. The 23-year-old center exploded with 77 points in 2021-22, establishing himself as one of the best young pivots in the league. His teammate, Jordan Kyrou, may soon be getting the same treatment. Andy Strickland of Bally Sports Midwest tweets that the Blues have begun extension talks with Kyrou.
Now 24, Kyrou had his own breakout season in 2021-22, reaching 27 goals and 75 points in 74 games. He was a horse in the playoffs as well, adding seven goals in 12 games. Last year at this time, the Blues decided to go with identical two-year bridge deals for Thomas and Kyrou, contracts that carry an average annual value of just $2.8M. It was an incredible bargain in year one and likely will give even more surplus value in 2022-23.
It will be interesting to see if another matching deal is coming, given the positional differences. While Thomas is a full-time center, Kyrou is a pure winger, something that isn’t usually quite as lucrative when it comes to long-term deals.
Importantly, the Blues have some other contracts to think about in any negotiation. Ryan O’Reilly and Vladimir Tarasenko are both set to become unrestricted free agents next summer. General manager Doug Armstrong has been more than willing in the past to move out key pieces early if they have indicated they aren’t going to re-sign, but losing O’Reilly in particular seems like it would set the team back significantly. If he’s to be extended, the 31-year-old will likely be looking for a deal at least as lucrative as the $7.5M cap hit he currently carries.
For now, if contract talks between Kyrou and the team have been “very good,” as Strickland says, the futures of O’Reilly and Tarasenko might have to wait.
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