Kyrou has 'a lot to prove' after trade to Capitals from Blues

Coming off an emotional day when he was traded for the first time in his career, Jordan Kyrou was looking ahead with excitement Wednesday to joining the Washington Capitals.

The 28-year-old forward waived the no-trade clause in his contract to allow the St. Louis Blues to trade him to Washington for forward Connor McMichael, forward prospect Milton Gastrin and the No. 16 pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.

"They were really pushing for me and it's nice seeing a team really wanting me, and it just makes me excited to come join the organization," Kyrou said. "I've also heard just from a lot of friends that it's a great city, and great organization, a great fan base there, a lot of history, and I'm just excited to be coming."

Kyrou, a three-time 30-goal scorer with the Blues, filled a need for the Capitals, who had been seeking a scoring wing with speed to play on one of their top two lines since last offseason. Kyrou said he was "not really looking" for a change of scenery, but acknowledged there was mutual interest in him moving on from the retooling Blues after a down season when he had 46 points (18 goals, 28 assists) in 72 games and his average ice time dropped from 17:29 per game in 2024-25 to 15:44.

"I've loved St. Louis and I loved playing there," he said. "I've had a great time there and a lot of great memories in my career. It's sometimes just people need a fresh start and a change of scenery."

Kyrou, who was selected by the Blues in the second round (No. 35) of the 2016 NHL Draft, has five seasons remaining on an eight-year, $65 million contract ($8.125 million average annual value) he signed on Sept. 13, 2022. He goes from the Blues (37-33-12), who finished four points behind the Los Angeles Kings for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference, to the Capitals (43-30-9), who finished four points behind the Ottawa Senators for the second wild card from the Eastern Conference.

While St. Louis is reworking its roster, Washington is gearing up to make a push to get back in the playoffs next season and preparing for life after Alex Ovechkin. The NHL record holder with 929 career goals, Ovechkin is on an expiring five-year, $47.5 million contract he signed July 27, 2021, and has yet to say whether he will return for a 22nd season.

Regardless, with Ovechkin approaching his 41st birthday Sept. 17, the Capitals know they need to be ready for him to walk away, whether it's this offseason or after. Kyrou hopes Ovechkin, who led Washington with 32 goals and 64 points in 82 games last season, puts off retirement for at least another season.

"Obviously, that'd be unbelievable," he said. "He's the greatest goal-scorer of all time, and I've heard nothing but great things about him. So, hopefully, he comes back for a year, and I get to meet him and play with him."

Kyrou can either supplement or replace some of the goal scoring Ovechkin provides. He reached 30 goals in three consecutive seasons from 2022-23 to 2024-25, including an NHL career-high 37 goals in 79 games in 2022-23, before dropping to 18 last season.

"Definitely a down year for me," Kyrou said. "I think just as a whole our group didn't so as well off the start as we wanted to, and, obviously, me myself as well, not the season that I wanted. I think I've got a lot to prove and have a bounce-back year this year."

Kyrou had a minor procedure on his knee after the season for what he called, "just a little injury", but said he's healthy now and has been having a good offseason training so far. He sees the Capitals' potential after they went 8-2-0 in their final 10 games, with young players such as forward Ilya Protas and defenseman Cole Hutson, who are each 19 years old, getting their feet wet in the NHL.

With center Pierre-Luc Dubois healthy after being limited to 29 games last season by surgery to repair abdominal and adductor muscle injuries, Washington hopes to rebound to its 2024-25 form, when it finished first in the Eastern Conference with 111 points (51-22-9).

"I think Washington is a great team," Kyrou said. "In the past playing against them, they've always been a big team, strong team, hard to play against and I'm excited to be going there to hopefully, just help the offense and just help improve the team."

Kyrou already knows Capitals defenseman Jakob Chychrun from their time as junior teammates with Sarnia of the Ontario Hockey League (2014-16). He trains with forward Tom Wilson in the offseason in a group in Toronto and has also crossed paths with Dubois, and forwards Dylan Strome and Anthony Beauvillier along the way.

He's looking forward to meeting the rest of the team soon.

"I'm still just overwhelmed with emotions, and a lot of stuff going on the last two days or last day, I guess," Kyrou said. "But I'm definitely excited to be joining this team. I've heard nothing but great things and I've heard it's a great group of guys and I've always thought they're a great hockey team."