A Quick Word: Examining the Jordan Kyrou extension with the Blues

A year early and probably better that way for St. Louis.

Before you rebel against the newly announced Jordan Kyrou extension (8 years, $65 million), think about what the price would be if the Blues waited another season before getting this thing going. That’s the best part about this contract: the timing. How it plays out for the Blues and Kyrou, who is coming off a 75 point season, followed by a 12 point postseason.

Critics can aptly pick apart his defensive woes, the classic offensive player plight that fans have seen with previous Blues players whose job was to produce goals. They take their foot off the gas pedal in the defensive zone, blow assignments, and end up costing the team goals. I don’t think all of this applies to the 24-year-old, who is still fine-tuning his NHL game as he enters his third full season.

Kyrou’s job isn’t to block shots and strangle a team’s attack in front of his own net. However, usually the offensive-heavy players sport a rough +/- rating. For his career, Kyrou is a plus 11. He’s not trying to match the rugged two-way mastery of Ryan O’Reilly, but he’s not hopeless out there.

I like the timing of the deal. 24 means the contract finishes up as he breaks into his thirties, rather than inching towards his mid-thirties. Whatever you think of Kyrou’s shortcomings, his ceiling hasn’t been reached and the last two years represent a pretty impressive growth. I don’t care whether or not he fits into Craig Berube’s system like a glove; many great players don’t fit the plans in the first few years of their rise.

The $8 million AAV may scare initially, but the term of the deal makes him a trade option near the end of his contract if the relationship is going sour. Or, he keeps making strides. The ones that are shown in a growth of spurt starting at 55 games/35 points and finished with 75 points in 74 games last season. You don’t think he’s done, do you? I don’t.

This is Doug Armstrong’s plan. The David Perrons and Vladimir Tarasenkos are on the way out, barring an extension with #91. Robert Thomas and Kyrou have freshly inked eight year deals that lock them into the team for close to a decade. This is the bridge being built after the Stanley Cup triumph and resulting chases. When O’Reilly’s tenure in St. Louis does come to an end, this is the next phase, to use a Marvel term.

What’s so bad about it? Thomas and Kyrou came into their own last season. The team is getting younger each season, the Petros and Perrons changing age brackets and gathering experience. Armstrong doesn’t want the Blues to stop hunting for another Cup win, but he’s also not selling out the future for nostalgia or one player. It’s the hard truth for fans but the honest assessment if you figure in the cap and the recent plays.

I wanted DP back, but I understand the direction. If you disagree, protest outside Enterprise. I bet you will just launch out of your chair after Kyrou’s first goal of the season. It’s on him, and Thomas, to live up to the prosperous contracts.

Us fans get to do zero prep or work, relaxing into our seasonal lawn chairs as it plays out.

Photo Credit: Jeff Curry/USA Today Sports