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The Montreal Canadiens could soon turn to a familiar target ahead of the trade deadline. Montreal has surprised many people around the NHL so far this season. After a fifth-place finish in the Atlantic Division a year ago, the club currently sits second at the Olympic break. Because of their place in the standings, the Habs are expected to be buyers in the trade market.

It was previously thought that Montreal would be looking for help at the center position. This, however, is now not looking to be the case. It was recently revealed that Canadiens GM Kent Hughes has shifted his focus to a top winger. The exec wants to acquire a quality forward to play alongside Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield on the top line.

One potential target for Hughes is St. Louis Blues star Jordan Kyrou. Much like nearly every other player on the team, Kyrou has been linked with a move away from St. Louis in recent weeks. The Blues are heading towards a rebuild and fielding calls about possible trades.

NHL insider David Pagnotta recently admitted that Kyrou is willing to waive his no-trade clause to facilitate a move. “He’s open to a move,” Pagnotta said of Kyrou on The Sheet with Jeff Marek. “I haven’t gotten the sense that it’s a direct request, but I think both sides understand where things are at. So whether it happens ahead of the deadline or around draft time, I think that’s a real significant possibility.”

Jordan Kyrou Would Give Montreal Canadiens Significant Boost

GettyJordan Kyrou is currently third on the Blues with 32 points during 2025-26.

Pagnotta then specifically picked out the Canadiens as a potential landing spot for the Blues winger. The insider noted that Montreal has been interested in Kyrou for some time and even attempted to acquire the star before. “I am wondering if [the Habs] circle back again for like the fourth time to St. Louis about Kyrou,” continued Pagnotta.

Kyrou would be a solid choice for Montreal. The Toronto native is fast and has a history of putting up plenty of points. His numbers so far this season are fairly disappointing, though. In fact, he is on pace to record his fewest points tally since COVID. Nevertheless, the Canadiens are likely hoping that the star would benefit from a change of scenery.

As TSN’s Travis Yost recently pointed out, Kyrou has endured some bad puck luck with the Blues throughout 2025-26. Along with this, St. Louis has been significantly better without the puck when the forward is on the ice. This should be particularly interesting to Hughes, considering Montreal has had its defensive issues all year. Kyrou would potentially boost the Canadiens offensively and defensively if acquired.

Canadiens Would Have to Dump Salary Before Making Move

There is, however, a fairly big problem in Montreal’s pursuit of Kyrou. The winger carries a salary of $8.1 million AAV, and the Canadiens have almost no cap space at the moment. The easiest way for the Habs to handle the massive hit is to trade Patrik Laine, who earns similar wages.

Montreal has been linked with offloading the fellow winger, but they are likely going to have to retain part of his salary. Hughes will be hoping that St. Louis also eats some of Kyrou’s contract to work out a deal.

The Canadiens are going to have plenty of competition for the star winger. The Seattle Kraken and Washington Capitals previously pursued Artemi Panarin before he was dealt to the Los Angeles Kings. Both teams are clearly looking for a star winger.

Christopher Moore Christopher Moore has been a Heavy.com contributor since 2025. With over a decade of experience in the industry, he has published thousands of articles reporting on multiple professional sports. He was previously a sports writer for World Soccer Talk, the Yahoo! Contributor Network, and the Maryland Sports Blog. More about Christopher Moore

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