It’s almost Thanksgiving, but one team is waving the white flag on the 2025-26 season. The St. Louis Blues sit 30th in the NHL standings and are searching for answers. However, they are open for business and could explore selling off pieces via trade. For the Boston Bruins, this is something general manager Don Sweeney should explore. There are identifiable pieces on that roster that the Bruins could use to fill their own. The two players in mind have term on their respective contracts and would also make the Bruins much deeper.
Jordan Kyrou: Right Wing
The Bruins have always needed someone of caliber behind David Pastrnak. Granted, they are getting elite goal scoring from Morgan Geekie, but they play on the same line. The Bruins sit in the top 10 in goals scored, but they could use more high-end talent on their top two lines. That’s precisely where Jordan Kyrou comes into the mix.
The situation with Kyrou and the Blues is strange. This is a player who was once healthy scratched, then returned to the raining boo birds by the entire fan base. It’s not something he took lightly, and he emotionally touched on that after their game on Dec. 15, 2023.
“I definitely heard those. That’s not easy obviously, but I see where they’re coming from. It’s definitely tough. I love playing here. I love playing for these fans.”
Fast-forward to the 2025-26 season, and the Blues made Kyrou a healthy scratch once again. It was a puzzling decision, but it did give other guys a chance to showcase themselves in the lineup. With the Blues fading away quickly from the playoff picture, the Bruins could explore adding Kyrou to the mix.
Kyrou is in year three of an eight-year extension he signed with the Blues. The deal carries an average annual value (AAV) of $8.1 million per season. The Bruins would have to do some salary cap gymnastics to make it fit under their current salary cap, but he’s a player worth investing in.
He is a bona fide top-six winger with enormous upside. This is a player who has had 70-plus points in three of the last four seasons. Also, he has three straight 30-goal seasons. The Bruins could use that type of scoring punch and production. During the 2024-25 season, he would’ve finished second on the Bruins in goals and points. So, unless they plan on filling the void with a younger player, adding a proven commodity in Kyrou is a smart order of business.
It won’t come cheap, but knowing he has term on his deal makes this desirable. If not him, then a player on the back end would work wonders for the Bruins’ blue line.
Colton Parayko: Defenseman
If the Bruins want to accelerate their timeline, landing a player like Colton Parayko allows them to do so. Parayko fits the Bruins’ lineup perfectly, as he is a right-shot defenseman and can log top-pair minutes. Although he wouldn’t have to be on the top pair, he could easily slide to the second pair as well. It’s a hole they have needed to fill ever since trading Brandon Carlo to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Related: Bruins’ Trade for Fraser Minten Adds to List of Great Deals with Maple Leafs
Parayko isn’t the offensive type of defenseman that you see nowadays in the NHL. Instead, the 6-foot-6 defenseman is a shutdown defenseman and uses his big frame to his advantage. He’s big, physical, and would thrive in the current system the Bruins have going.
The Bruins have a top pair that’s proving to work under new head coach Marco Sturm. Nikita Zadorov and Charlie McAvoy work well with one another and feed off each other’s style of play. Giving two-way defenseman Hampus Lindholm a shutdown defenseman like Parayko would give the Bruins a much more well-rounded defensive unit.
Parayko is a bit cheaper than Kyrou from a contract standpoint. He is in the fourth year of an eight-year extension and has a $6.5 million AAV. Given the rise in the salary cap, that’s an easy contract to fit into the fold. Both players fill immediate needs for the Bruins, but Sweeney should be exploring both avenues to add to this roster.
What the Price Could Be
If the Bruins are to land one of these two players, the price won’t be cheap. One thing the Bruins do have is first round draft picks at their disposal. Trading the Maple Leafs’ draft pick for this upcoming draft is not on the table, but the Florida Panthers’ 2027 first round pick should be. Also, the Bruins could add younger players to the trade to entice the Blues, who could be looking to get younger.
It depends on what the Blues value, but someone like Matthew Poitras could add value to that group. The Bruins would also have to maneuver the money and could offload someone with significant term on their contract to make it work. Will it be easy? Nope. But these are players the Bruins can build with for the foreseeable future.
Building for the Future
These two players not only make the Bruins better for this season, but also beyond. Both these players fill holes on their roster and have term on their respective contracts. The free agency market has dwindled down with each passing day, so landing true upgrades will have to come via trade. These two are worth adding, and Sweeney should be exploring these trade options.
