Blues hand out another monster contract extension, this time to Jordan Kyrou

The St. Louis Blues have signed 24 year old forward Jordan Kyrou to an eight year contract worth $65 million. Kyrou's new deal carries an $8.125 million annual cap hit.

Kyrou's new deal matches the one handed out to fellow Blues forward Robert Thomas earlier this offseason and makes the pair the team's two highest paid players, edging out stars Ryan O'Reilly and Vladimir Tarasenko who each earn $7.5 million per season.

Kyrou had a break out campaign in 2021-22, posting 27 goals and 75 points in 74 regular season games. Notably, he also won the fastest skater contest at the 2022 NHL All-Star Weekend, edging out superstar Connor McDavid.

"I'm so thankful to the Blues organization for putting their trust in me and giving me the opportunity to wear the Blue Note for the forseeable future," Kyrou told stlouisblues.com. "Being able to call St. Louis my home is amazing. I can't say enough about how much I love the city. And to the best fans in the League, I can't thank you enough for always showing me love and support."

The Blues now have Kyrou, Thomas, Brayden Schenn, Colton Parayko and Jordan Binnington all signed long-term, but they'll need to sort out what to do with both O'Reilly and Tarasenko beyond this season. If one thing's clear, it's that Blues GM Doug Armstrong seems comfortable with the team transitioning to a young core, as evidenced by both the Thomas and the Kyrou signings. 

To me, the Blues overpaid on this deal with the understanding that they stand to benefit if Kyrou's development stays on path. If he continues at a point per game pace or even exceeds that in the coming years this contract will look like a steal. In effect, Armstrong is betting on Kyrou, and Thomas for that matter, to take the next step and out-earn this contract in the coming years. It's not a bad bet, but I wonder if it's a smart one for the Blues to be making at this point. As always with contracts like these, time will tell.