The turmoil that the St. Louis Blues are currently experiencing this season has been well documented. General manager Doug Armstrong set a new direction for the franchise after a fire sale at last year’s trade deadline by sending fan favorites Ryan O’Reilly and Vladimir Tarasenko away to other teams. Those trades, paired with a relatively quiet off-season, started the team on a new path of trying to competitively rebuild this roster on the fly without sacrificing position in the standings. Fast forward nearly a year later, the Blues are still not in a playoff position, and the roster appears to have more question marks than answers moving forward.
What Got The Blues Here?
When Armstrong decided to part with O’Reilly and Tarasenko a year ago, he put the Blues’ long-term future before the team’s short-term success. At the beginning of the 2022-23 season, he signed young players Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou to eight-year contract extensions worth $8.1 million a year. Sending out old leadership on expiring deals and handing the baton over to new franchise cornerstones was a heavily scrutinized decision, and rightfully so. Neither player had proven their worth at that dollar evaluation. Thomas and Kyrou had shown tremendous skill and upside before signing the contract extensions. Still, they had yet to combine consistency on both ends of the ice to take the next development step as franchise players. Paying them that amount of money was a big gamble for the franchise as Armstrong was banking on the raw talent and potential of the two young players to return the Blues to its days of being a perennial playoff team.
This change of direction and leadership was going to come with difficulty. Losing multiple veterans who helped lead the team to its first-ever Stanley Cup is hard, and replacing those high-caliber players is challenging. Thomas and Kyrou were selected by Armstrong very early on in their tenure with the organization as the next leaders of the team and were expected to become elite players in this league. With both players starting their eight-year contract under their new cap hit, expectations rise, and unfortunately for the Blues, the position in the standings has not.
The Blues’ salary cap situation still has created difficulty for the team to make roster changes. With the number of long-term contracts at high dollar amounts, several of which have no-movement clauses involved, many have questioned the decision to pay certain players.
Extending Robert Thomas
The Blues have had very few bright spots during this tumultuous season, and very few of those have consistently been there for the season. Thomas has been this team’s backbone all year, consistently producing on both ends of the ice. Leading the team in points by nearly 20 and logging the most ice time of any forward, he has exceeded all expectations set for him this season. Currently on pace for 93 points, if he continues this play for the remainder of the season, he is expected to have the most points for any Blues player since the NHL cap era began. He would become just the 10th different player in Blues history to break the 90-point mark during a single season.
The role that the Blues ask of Thomas is a demanding one. He always plays against the opposition’s best forwards and is expected to be the team’s engine on offense and anchor on defense against elite competition. On top of that, the centerman plays on both special teams units and is an alternate captain. The Blues entrust him with great responsibility at a young age, and he has handled it better than anyone would have expected. When both Thomas and Kyrou signed extensions in September 2022, many questions were raised about the decision, but those questions were rarely asked about Thomas. This reaction is the opposite of his linemate Kyrou, who has been heavily scrutinized, especially since signing his extension. However, when looking at their games, Thomas has always been an all-around player with scoring and playmaking upside. At the same time, Kyrou showcased elite skill and scoring ability but lacked effort and consistent play in other areas of the game.
Thomas’ growing trajectory and ability to play in every facet of the game gave Armstrong and the Blues coaching staff confidence in him to be a leader on and off the ice. The questions are minimal with his game, especially compared to Kyrou. Thomas’ ability to take his game to an elite level, this season in particular, has made him a league-wide name and catapulted him into the upper tier of elite centers in the NHL. With the salary cap continuing to increase and Thomas’ play this season, his contract could age incredibly well for the Blues, getting an elite player for less than his market value.
Extending Jordan Kyrou
The relationship between Kyrou and Blues fans is full of complexity and emotion. No player on this roster has garnered more split reactions and frustration than the 25-year-old winger. So, when the team announced the massive contract extension for Kyrou, the overall response was less receptive to the idea than Thomas. Undoubtedly, Kyrou is one of the most talented offensive players on the roster, but the frustration comes from the need for more consistency night in and night out. He can utilize his speed and lethal shot to make the opposing teams pay when he becomes aggressive and tends to shoot the puck. However, there are games where he disappears and needs to show a consistent effort, especially on the defensive side of the puck.
Despite all the scrutiny and unwarranted hate Kyrou gets, the production speaks for itself. In his last three seasons, he has played in 210 games with 193 points, just under a point per game. When signing the extension, the Blues were paying him to be a difference-maker and produce offensively at a high pace, and he has done that. Sure, the team would love to see him impact both ends of the ice and potentially shoot the puck more often, but overall, it is hard not to be at least satisfied with the way he has produced for the Blues.
The constant frustration with Kyrou by fans and, at times, the coaching staff stems from the high ceiling he possesses. Undoubtedly, he can be a consistent, lethal 30-goal scorer who can add 50-60 assists in a season, but some nights he fails to showcase it. Player development makes his contract more challenging to examine than Thomas’ contract. While Thomas has exceeded expectations and cemented himself as the Blues’ best player since extending a year and a half ago, Kyrou has plateaued. When Armstrong signed both young players to extensions, the expectation was continued growth and development as they established themselves as superstars in the NHL. Still, Kyrou’s production and habits have not elevated since becoming the team’s highest-paid player.
Because of his lack of development, inconsistent effort, and lack of elevated play, Kyrou’s name has been floated around in trade talks over the last couple of weeks, with the trade deadline approaching. Although highly unlikely anytime soon, the fact that his name is in the rumor mill is something to monitor. If his name is circulated around the league, Armstrong might not see him as the long-term franchise cornerstone he was viewed as when he signed his extension.
Time Will Tell
While the early showcases from Thomas and Kyrou have been mostly promising from a production standpoint, time will tell whether signing these players to significant contract extensions was the correct call. Since signing, the Blues have not made the post-season and have been an inconsistent hockey team. Most will agree that it is no fault of Thomas or Kyrou but more of the overall roster construction around them. With the dollar amount these two are being paid, it is reasonable to believe a certain level of blame should be carried on their shoulders.
Being the highest-paid players on the roster comes with a certain level of expectation, and that includes being able to overcome obstacles and elevate teammates. Thomas is well on his way to becoming one of the best centers in all of hockey and should be viewed as such after the season he is having. While Kyrou is still trying to find his true potential and consistent game, the Blues might have to make a difficult decision on him if he fails to take his game to the next level.
