In today’s NHL rumour rundown, we look at the future of Jordan Kyrou with the St. Louis Blues and if a trade could be on the horizon. Elsewhere, there have reportedly been some questions about Owen Tippett‘s long-term fit internally with the Philadelphia Flyers. Finally, we will look at the New Jersey Devils and how they may suddenly need to add a defenseman.
Kyrou Scratched, Future Remains Unknown
The Blues seem to look towards Kyrou as a scapegoat at times, and when things aren’t going the way they need them to, Kyrou sits. It is common for teams to sit a top player to send a message, especially when the team is second-last in the NHL with a 5-8-2 record.
Kyrou hasn’t been playing too poorly this season, scoring eight points in 14 games, though the Blues would like to see a bit more.
Jordan Kyrou, St. Louis Blues (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)
Looking at analytics, Kyrou has been phenomenal defensively this season, and with the lower-than-usual but still good production, there wasn’t a good reason for Kyrou to sit.
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Last season, there were some talks about the Blues moving Kyrou before his no-move clause kicked in on his contract. Kyrou makes $8.125 million for five more seasons after this one. Elliotte Friedman pointed out that up until the turn of the hockey season, that was a very big number. The market has changed significantly, and $8.125 million is a lot more movable than it was before.
The New York Islanders and Montreal Canadiens were poking around on Kyrou, plus the Ottawa Senators and Vancouver Canucks were talked about, but not as much as the other two teams.
It wouldn’t be the simplest deal to pull off, but if the Blues think long-term, they are better off without Kyrou; a deal could be made.
Tippett Could Be Moved Out of Philadelphia
Speaking of questioning the long-term outlook, Anthony Di Marco of Daily Faceoff reported that league sources have indicated that there may be some concern about the long-term fit for Tippett with the Flyers.
The Flyers brought Tippett in when they dealt Claude Giroux to the Florida Panthers, and he has made some great developmental strides since. He has gotten to the point where 20 goals and 45 points is the floor for his production. He started the 2025-26 season off red-hot, but has just one assist in his past eight games.
There is some excellent talent on the wings for the Flyers. With Matvei Michkov, Travis Konecny, Tyson Foerster, and the evolution of Bobby Brink, there is plenty of talent, and it could make sense to move a top-six caliber player.
Di Marco notes that Los Angeles Kings assistant general manager Marc Bergevin has soaked in a number of Flyers games as of late, and the match between Tippett and the Kings could make a lot of sense.
The Flyers would be looking for younger assets, whether it be draft picks or young NHL-ready players, but it could be a wise move to move on from a relatively expendable asset.
Devils Down More Defensemen, May Look at Market
Dougie Hamilton left the game for the Devils during the game against the Canadiens. The best news would be that it was precautionary and that he is fine, but head coach Sheldon Keefe said that there was no update on Hamilton after the game. That doesn’t instill a ton of confidence.
Brett Pesce has missed five games with an upper-body injury and was just placed on the injury reserve, and he isn’t expected back for almost a month. The Devils are also without Jonathan Kovacevic, who is still recovering from an off-season surgery.
On top of those three key defensemen being out, the play from both Simon Nemec and Jonas Siegenthaler has been inconsistent. The Devils have a great group of six defensemen when healthy, and thankfully for them, they still have Luke Hughes and Brenden Dillon playing well, and have others to call upon like Dennis Cholowski and Seamus Casey.
James Nichols of NJ Hockey Now lists Andrew Peeke from the Boston Bruins, Vincent Desharnais from the San Jose Sharks, and Nick Perbix of the Nashville Predators as trade candidates. All three defensemen make between $2 and $3 million, which makes these plausible for the Devils.
On top of the money making sense, all three defensemen are on teams that will likely be selling off players this season.
There doesn’t seem to be anything imminent here, and Hamilton’s injury will be a big factor in whether or not the Devils need to make an addition.
