The St. Louis Blues may already be getting the better end of one of their offseason swaps.
Through the first seven games, Connor McMichael has looked settled in St. Louis, while Jordan Kyrou has taken longer to find his footing in Washington. Both players have mattered for their new clubs, but the early edge goes to the Blues.
Kyrou’s production has come slowly with the Capitals. He has two goals and two assists for four points, and he has been shuffled through the first, second and third lines.
His ice time is sitting at just over 13 minutes per game. Washington brought him in as one of two major goal scorers, alongside Alex Tuch of Buffalo, and the Capitals were clearly hoping he would get back to the form that had him scoring more than 30 goals a year.
That’s starting to come, but at a crawl. In Washington’s most recent game against the Montreal Canadiens, he posted his best outing of the season with a goal and an assist, his first multi-point game.
McMichael has been the more effective piece so far in St. Louis.
The fit has looked natural from the jump, and he has become a real force on the second line, which has finally given the Blues the secondary scoring they’ve been chasing. Jonatan Berggren and Mason McTavish have played a role in that, too.
In seven games, McMichael has six points, trailing only McTavish, who has eight. He is tied with Pius Suter, another surprise contributor from the fourth line, and has produced one goal at even strength and another on the power play.
His speed through the neutral zone has stood out, and there’s at least a path to him becoming a 70-point player next to McTavish, which would give real weight to the idea that St. Louis has finally built solid scoring depth.
There has been some discussion about moving McTavish to the top line, but McMichael has earned a look there as well, whether that means skating with Thomas or taking the spot of whichever winger would need to slide out.
For the moment, the Blues can claim the win in the Kyrou-McMichael swap. The numbers are close, but McMichael has been the more seamless fit, and Kyrou’s start has been the slower one.
That could change down the road, but right now St. Louis is ahead.
In Other News...
Blues Collapse Against Wild Exposed A Problem Fans Know Too Well
The Blues had enough offense to build a comfortable cushion against Minnesota, getting a multi-point night from Robert Thomas and three assists from Cam Fowler before the game turned sharply in the third period. St. Louis led 5-2 and looked in control, but the Wild kept pressing and eventually turned the night into a reminder that no lead is safe when the structure slips.
What stood out after the collapse was how familiar it looked. The Blues were again hurt by odd-man rushes and had trouble sorting out their own end once Minnesota found a rhythm, leaving Joel Hofer to face too much traffic and too many quality looks. Hofer made 33 saves on 38 shots, but the late breakdowns were the bigger issue, and they left St. Louis with a loss that felt avoidable long before the final horn. [Read more 🡒]
Blues Fans Wont Love Where This Franchise Favorite Landed
David Perron is back on the move, and this time the longtime winger is landing in a place that will not sit especially well with plenty of St. Louis fans. The Dallas Stars have brought in the franchise favorite on a one-year contract as he begins his 20th NHL season, adding a veteran presence to a roster that suddenly needs help up front.
For Dallas, the fit is obvious enough: injuries have thinned the forward group, and the Stars are looking for experience and reliability while they manage their depth. Perron has built a career by adapting wherever he goes, and now he arrives in a division rivals sweater with the kind of savvy that can still matter in a short-term role, even if the move will be easier to swallow in Texas than it is in Missouri. [Read more 🡒]
Berggren Is Forcing A Blues Decision That Could Cost Them Later
Jonatan Berggren has given the Blues something worth talking about early this season, and not just because of the production. In seven games, he has settled into a regular role with 14:42 of ice time per night, showing enough two-way growth to earn looks on the penalty kill while helping drive play at the other end. For a team always weighing present value against future flexibility, that kind of steady early return makes him harder to ignore.
The bigger question now is what all of that means when contract talks eventually come into focus. Berggren is playing well enough to force St. Louis into a real roster and salary decision, the kind that can shape how the next few seasons look if the club misjudges his value. The Blues have seen how quickly a productive young player can change the math, and the longer he keeps this up, the less room there is to treat him like a short-term piece. [Read more 🡒]