The Minnesota Wild should target Robert Thomas from the St. Louis Blues to improve their center position. Also, they should target Jordan Kyrou, who hasn’t taken a step forward after scoring 70 points last season. He has only 24 points in 42 games, which puts him on pace for just 41 points. That drop in production is one of the reasons the Blues are sitting last in the Central Division.
Can Kyrou regain his scoring touch in Minnesota? Kyrou’s never been a cornerstone. Kyrou doesn’t have to worry about being the cornerstone for the Wild. That should relieve pressure and help him regain his scoring touch.
I’d like to correct myself and say the Blues are seeking a significant return for Thomas and Kyrou. It doesn’t matter if they both have no-trade clauses (NTCs). They are looking to retool more than rebuild, which is understandable.
So should the Wild steer away from Thomas and Kyrou? Absolutely not. They’ve already traded for Quinn Hughes. They shouldn’t fear losing the future if it creates a Cup window.
Kyrou by the numbers (all-situations)
T-111th in takeaways (14)
Ahead of Brad Marchand, Nathan MacKinnon, Christian Dvorak, Sean Kuraly, Vincent Trocheck, Brock Nelson, Dylan Larkin, Mason McTavish, Shane Pinto, Jordan Staal, Logan Cooley, Joel Eriksson Ek, Anze Kopitar, and Ivan Barbashev.
Top defensive centers like Eriksson Ek, Kopitar, Larkin, Dvorak, Staal, and Trocheck came up short to Kyrou’s takeaways. Kyrou is more impactful defensively than MacKinnon, who excels in every area. Kyrou can help center Eriksson Ek on the forecheck. That will lead to more puck possession for the Wild and scoring chances.
T-207th in Goals Per 60 (0.84)
Ahead of Anders Lee, Thomas, Matthew Knies, Mats Zuccarello, Adam Fantilli, Patrick Kane, Eriksson Ek, Mitch Marner, Brock Boeser, Alexis Lafreniere, Gabriel Landeskog, Mathew Barzal, and Matt Duchene
Kyrou is producing better goals per 60 than Thomas, Fantilli, Kane, and Marner. Marner is the biggest standout name on this list, and Kyrou is performing better than him. Kyrou’s showing that he can still take his goal-scoring to the next level. His slump is temporary. He’s scored 30 goals in his last three seasons.
T-193rd in Assists Per 60 (1.12)
Ahead of Auston Matthews, Pavel Dorofeyev, Mikael Granlund, Seth Jarvis, Owen Tippett, Cooley, Dawson Mercer, Duchene, Jackson Blake, Bo Horvat, Andrei Kuzmenko, Timo Meier, Boeser, Jake DeBrusk, and Chris Kreider
Kyrou has produced more assists than Matthews, Jarvis, and Cooley.
Right now, he’s better suited to be Kaprizov’s playmaker than those three. Kyrou can step in for Zuccarello if needed once his contract expires. The Wild would likely want to extend Zuccarello for at least another two years because he still provides secondary scoring.
46th in Shots Per 60 (9.02)
Ahead of Alex Ovechkin, Kane, Larkin, Artemi Panarin, Fiala, Fantilli, Nazem Kadri, Clayton Keller, Nikita Kucherov, Sam Bennett, Evgeni Malkin, Sherwood, Steven Stamkos, Dylan Cozens, Landeskog, Will Smith, Leon Draisaitl, Blake, McTavish, Alex Tuch, JJ Peterka, Leo Carlsson, Brayden Point, Sam Reinhart, Mikko Rantanen, Tim Stützle, Boeser, and Sebastian Aho.
Kyrou’s producing more S/60 than Ovechkin, Panarin, Kucherov, Malkin, Stamkos, Draisaitl, Point, Rantanen, and Aho. That means that whatever line he’s on, he’s going to generate a high level of shots. If the Wild want, they could put Kyrou and Zuccarello together on a line where Kyrou’s going to generate more shots.
26th in Shot Attempts Per 60 (19.16)
Ahead of Jack Hughes, Macklin Celebrini, Bennett, Tippett, Fantilli, Larkin, Fiala, Jack Eichel, Kadri, Kirill Kaprizov, Cole Caufield, Horvat, Connor Bedard, McTavish, Connor McDavid, Reinhart, Kane, Jarvis, Draisaitl, and Keller
With a center like Eriksson Ek in front of the net, Kyrou could make more passes knowing they have a good chance of translating into goals. That would help him get more assists and convert more of his shots. Eriksson Ek lets Kyrou use his skills to create more points for himself and his line.
42nd in blocked shots (61)
Ahead of Lucas Raymond, Draisaitl, Eichel, Stützle, Rantanen, Carlsson, Matthews, Aho, McDavid, Barzal, Marchand, Sidney Crosby, McTavish, Horvat, Bedard, Nick Suzuki, Gabriel Vilardi, Kreider, Brady Tkachuk, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Thomas, Eriksson Ek, Sean Couturier, Tuch, and Trocheck
Even though his main role is to create scoring chances, Kyrou’s commitment to blocking shots shows he’s a complete player who can contribute at both ends of the ice. Teams can rely on him for goals and assists, as well as for his defensive effort, which can shift the momentum in games.
If the Blues trade Kyrou, expect them to trade his full contract. It’s unlikely that the Blues retain any salary unless it’s a team with cap struggles. Guerin has $6,128,455 in cap space to work with, but has $11,819,163 in deadline cap space. Thomas’s $8.13 million cap hit will take up most of the deadline cap. The Wild would need to start moving at least $8 million to fit Kyrou’s contract.
The Wild would like to leave some cap space to extend Hughes. However, the Blues are division rivals and won’t do the Wild any favors. To land Thomas, Guerin should offer a Jesper Wallstedt package to get their top center. To land Kyrou, Guerin should offer an Adam Benak package.
Guerin would be betting on the upside of Thomas and Kyrou with the Wild, and that is worth giving up a franchise potential goalie like Wallstedt. However, Wallstedt still needs more time before he becomes a true franchise goalie in the NHL.
Wallstedt’s high potential and future upside could be enough to interest the Blues in a trade for Thomas and Kyrou. Benak offers the most exciting upside among the forward prospects. The Blues are trying to add as much talent as possible.
If the Blues want more prospect depth, it’d be from the next wave of prospects. They’d get to take at least three from this group of prospects: Hunter Haight, Riley Heidt, David Jiricek, Ryder Ritchie, Carson Lambos, Lirim Amidovski, Aron Kiviharju, Daemon Hunt, and David Spacek.
St. Louis could target Haight, who’d instantly get a legitimate opportunity on a new team. Heidt’s struggling at the professional level right now, but could be a late bloomer. Amidovski could be a similar version of Bryan Rust. Ritchie plays like Victor Olofsson.
The Wild should trade Ryan Hartman and Vladimir Tarasenko. Hartman makes $4 million for one more year, and Tarasenko’s $4.75 million cap hit is expiring. That will help open up more cap space at the deadline. Not to mention that Tarasenko would be reuniting with the Blues.
Minnesota will need to extend Hughes after landing Kyrou and Thomas. They can’t extend Hughes and Wallstedt ($2.2 million through 2026-27). The Wild extended Filip Gustavsson with his no-movement clause (NMC) kicking in July. Losing Wallstedt will hurt more than losing Zeev Buium, but the Wild need to open their winning window! Hughes is a bigger commodity than Wallstedt. Also, the Wild won’t need to worry about extending Thomas and Kyrou.
Trade
To St. Louis: Ryan Hartman, Vladimir Tarasenko, Jesper Wallstedt, Adam Benak, Hunter Haight, Ryder Ritchie, David Jiricek, 2027 1st round pick, 2028 2nd round pick, and 2028 3rd round pick
To Minnesota: Robert Thomas, Jordan Kyrou, Jordan Binnington (50% retained), Akil Thomas, and 2027 4th round pick
Playoff lines
Forwards
Boldy – Thomas – Kaprizov
Zuccarello – Eriksson Ek – Kyrou
Yurov – Stramel – Johansson
Foligno – Sturm – Trenin
Hinostroza
Defensemen
Hughes – Faber
Brodin – Spurgeon
Middleton – Bogosian
Hunt
Goalies
Gustavsson
Binnington
Special Teams
PP1: Boldy – Eriksson Ek – Kaprizov
Thomas – Hughes
PP2: Kyrou – Stramel – Yurov
Zuccarello – Faber
PK1: Thomas – Boldy
Brodin – Faber
PK2: Sturm – Trenin
Middleton – Spurgeon
Kyrou has proven to be a top-six quality player. He creates a lot of shots and shot attempts, which means he helps drive offense on any line. Kyrou’s goal and assist rates compare well with many top players, and his history of scoring 30 goals indicates that his slump likely won’t last.
He also does more on defense than people think. Kyrou gets takeaways and blocks shots, showing effort and responsibility. With a center like Eriksson Ek, Kyrou can help improve puck possession and create more scoring chances. Kyrou has the skill and work ethic to succeed in a top-six role.
The Wild gave up Wallstedt, but gained two top-six forwards and a proven winner in Binnington. Binnington could benefit from a change of scenery.