Connor McMichael signed a six-year, $40.5 million contract with the St. Louis Blues on Thursday, avoiding an arbitration hearing.
The contract has an average annual value of $6.75 million.
McMichael had been acquired in a trade with the Washington Capitals, along with forward prospect Milton Gastrin and the No. 16 pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, for forward Jordan Kyrou on June 23.
A restricted free agent, McMichael had filed for salary arbitration July 5. Hearings are scheduled to be held July 20-Aug. 1.
The 25-year-old forward had 46 points (14 goals, 32 assists) in 78 games last season. He had an NHL career-best 57 points (26 goals, 31 assists) in 82 games in 2024-25.
"I'm super-excited," McMichael said after the trade. "I think one of the first things I did when I found out is checked the Blues roster and got familiar with the guys. From what I saw, there's going to be a lot of years where we can be competitive. It's a team that's looking to build and get better and better each year. There's quite a few guys the same age as me, so that's real exciting. I'm already familiar with a few guys as well. I'm really happy to be a Blue.
"Last year was a bit of a down year for me. ... The assists were still there, but the goal scoring, not so much. That's definitely something I pride myself in. I like to get into the dirty areas per se, and find the soft spots and find the back of the net. I think I'm a well-rounded player that's going to be able to score and set guys up."
Selected by the Capitals in the first round (No. 25) of the 2019 NHL Draft, McMichael has 154 points (67 goals, 87 assists) in 315 regular-season games and eight points (five goals, three assists) in 18 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
"McMichael's got speed," Blues president of hockey operations Doug Armstrong said after the trade. "He's got the ability to play multiple positions up front. A little bit younger, we've got control over him for a couple years."
