The St. Louis Blues are going to look a lot different with regard to their top-six next season. They will have two new faces after eliminating one of their bigger names over the offseason. 

Connor McMichael and Mason McTavish come in to hopefully replace and expand on the absence of Jordan Kyrou. The argument here is that without Kyrou, this team can actually be better in 2026-27. 

Let’s talk about why. 

More consistency 

Kyrou had eight years of stellar hockey with the Blues. He was this team’s best goalscorer for a good chunk of that time, with his career-best climbing to 37 goals in 2022-23. But it was impossible to ignore the lack of consistency and the unfortunate reality that his contract was not living up to the expectations. 

Now, McMichael and McTavish come in to try and make things a little more swell on that second line. The third member is to be determined, with Pavel Buchnevich and Jake Neighbours set to do battle in training camp for it. 

With how well the first line was at the end of last season, featuring captain Robert Thomas, Jimmy Snuggerud, and Dylan Holloway, the bottom half of the top six has to be vastly better than years past. 

Erasing a messy exit 

The 2025-26 season was a messy exit for Kyrou. Head coach Jim Montgomery benched Kyrou for a game as an example for him and this team that he is going to sit whoever is not performing well. It worked for about two games after that, and then the inconsistencies began once again from No. 25. 

Overall, he just couldn’t get himself together for much of the season, and it made more sense to move on than to try one more time. 

Better without him? 

This roster should look and feel better without him. A new “goal-scorer” has been added, with both Snuggerud and Holloway poised for breakout seasons, and it should not be a surprise if McTavish is threatening to score 30 goals in 2026-27. Those three have shown significant promise of doing that, and they bring other elements that Kyrou didn’t. 

The Blues are not slated to be a playoff team, but anything can happen over an 84-game season. There is a heated debate over who will showcase more points next season between the two new additions, and it should be McTavish taking the crown. 

But looking at Kyrou with Washington, it will be interesting to see how he fits into this points race as well. The Capitals went all in on him and Alex Tuch from Buffalo to expedite their path back to the top of the Metropolitan Division. 

The Blues should notch a few more wins in 2026-27. At least, that’s the plan. How many more is something we are all gonna find out, but one contributing factor to the change is going to be letting go of Kyrou.

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