Last year, a common refrain around Jordan Kyrou was that it was a make or break year. Kyrou was on the last year of a five-year entry level deal that had a $758,333 cap hit and a $880,000 AAV at the end. The pending RFA needed to crack the lineup consistently if he wanted an extension and a nice pay bump.
Kyrou did a lot more than consistently crack the lineup. Throughout the season, especially his explosive start, he showed that he belonged in the lineup every night. Kyrou finished last season with 14 goals and 35 points in 55 games, good for fifth on the team in scoring. He found himself earning top six minutes before having some difficulties at the mid-way point that coincided with the rest of the Blues’ struggles.
Moving forward, it’s clear that Doug Armstrong believes that Jordan Kyrou should be getting some big minutes. If Vladimir Tarasenko is moved before the start of the season, Kyrou could be the team’s second line right-wing, and Armstrong signed him to a deal that shows that’s what the Blues expect out of him. Kyrou’s two-year contract will take the 23 year old up to the end of 2023 at $2,800,000 a season. That’s a raise of 3.5 times of last contract’s AAV.
If that isn’t a vote of confidence, I don’t know what is.
To make things better for Kyrou, he’ll still be a RFA at the end of this term, meaning that he’ll be able to negotiate a long term deal with the Blues. If Kyrou continues to grow as a player, that next contract with St. Louis should be a nice payday with a lot of security.
Currently, the Blues have $3,531,151 of cap space remaining to lock up their last two restricted free agents, Robert Thomas and Zach Sanford. Thomas will warrant a raise past his current $894,166 cap hit, and Sanford more than likely will want substantially more than his current $1,500,000 salary.
Armstrong still has the cap space to retain Tarasenko if need be and lock up both RFAs.
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