Once a Blues lightning rod, Jordan Kyrou (and his +23) won over fans going into playoffs

New York Times

19-04-2025

ST. LOUIS — It's almost noon on April 5, and Jordan Kyrou is leaving Enterprise Center after the St. Louis Blues' morning skate. The team has won 11 straight games, and he's been a major contributor with nine goals during the streak, including a hat trick.
Kyrou is wearing comfy clothes and carrying a to-go lunch. Life is good for the Blues' leading scorer over the last three seasons.
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'It's been awesome,' Kyrou said. 'You can see the boys are on a good winning streak right now, and it's just fun to be a part of right now. We've got a big fan base here that wants us to do well, and I just want to do my best out there.'
The fans have been rooting for Kyrou to become a go-to player since the Blues selected him in the second round of the 2016 NHL Draft. His electric speed was enticing, but his lack of defensive responsibility and penchant for turnovers made him a lightning rod.
This season, however, it started to come together for the 26-year-old right winger. Not only did he finish the regular season with 36 goals and 70 points, but his plus-minus was a team-high +23.
Think about that for a second.
In 2022-23, 951 players suited up in the NHL, and Kyrou tied for the second-worst plus-minus in the league at -38. Two years later, with 920 players seeing action, he was tied for 26th at +23.
Asked what he made of that, Kyrou said: 'I mean, I don't know. I don't really look at it like that. I just look at it as our team is winning games and everyone is doing well.'
Told that fans have taken note and asked how he felt about that, he replied: 'Yeah, it feels good. But honestly, I just try to focus on myself. I don't really focus on the outside noise or anything like that. I just try to stay locked in.'
As the Blues begin their first-round playoff series against the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday, they hope Kyrou can remain locked in. For their remarkable run to continue, they'll need the all-around game he showed he's capable of playing this season.
Game 1 of the Western Conference first-round series is at 5 p.m. at Canada Life Centre.
Teammate Robert Thomas has been by Kyrou's side since the beginning, and, in fact, signed the same eight-year, $65 million contract that Kyrou did in 2022, intensifying the scrutiny on the two young players.
Thomas, who's turned himself into a dynamic defensive player, agreed that Kyrou has become more accountable all over the ice this season.
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'It's something I know he's put a lot of work and effort into,' Thomas said. 'You can see it, especially when he's getting a lot of chances off turnovers and stuff that he creates. I think it's about being in the right position. It's more about managing the game and knowing that being in the right areas will reward you more than trying to do too much. That part of his game has been amazing to watch him grow.'
In 2021-22, Kyrou had a breakout season with 27 goals and 75 points, and according to Natural Stat Trick, he was on the ice for 60 five-on-five goals for and 45 against.
The following season, he hit another level offensively with 37 goals, but as his ice time grew to 18 minutes a game, and his matchups became more difficult, his defense was exposed. He was on the ice for 56 goals for and 72 against.
But the past two seasons, it's swung dramatically the other way.
Blues coach Jim Montgomery was an assistant coach with the club from 2020-22, and after being away with the Boston Bruins for three seasons, he's noticed a difference in Kyrou upon his return.
'I think his willingness to work off the puck,' Montgomery said. 'How many times have you seen him track people and strip pucks? He's turned over a lot more pucks, and now he's not defending as much, and now he's on the attack mode.
'Our D-zone coverage, I think it's really easy for wings. He understands the details and he executes it really well. So you're confidence just continues to grow as a coach and his confidence grows.'
Montgomery also pointed to Kyrou's increased physicality. He was credited with a career-high 50 hits this season, which is triple what Kyrou combined for (13) in the two seasons Montgomery was a Blues assistant.
'He's finished a lot more hits than when I was here last time, and that's just him maturing and gaining confidence physicality-wise,' Montgomery said.
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Kyrou believes it was a matter of time before it came together.
'It's just a learning experience, right?' he said. 'I felt like I took a step in the right direction defensively. Maybe one game you didn't do so well, and you're like, 'I need to try to work on this specific thing this game,' and then it starts to happen more naturally.
'I'm just trying to balance the two and make them both become more natural — when to make a play, when not to make a play, when is the right time of the game, you know? I feel like this year it's finally clicking both ways.'
A Western Conference coach, speaking on the condition of anonymity, concurred that Kyrou has been more effective overall.
'I would say definitely, yes, but it's a little difficult to try to figure out why after all these years,' the coach said. 'Jordan has always been a really skilled, a very clear top-six player with the potential to be a game-breaker offensively, and it's a common with a player of that ilk, you're often happy with what he's doing to create offense, but what you're not happy with is his work ethic away from the puck, to check it back, or be positionally responsible.
'It becomes for those players because they say, 'If I use all of my energy to defend or get above pucks, I don't know if I can be the offensive player.' But what they fail to realize is just a little bit of effort early will allow you to spend 30 seconds playing offense. So I wouldn't say Jordan is a voracious checker, but still he's improved, and sometimes that's enough. If there's improvement, it allows the coach to play him in more situations.'
The coach, however, believes it could be a case of Kyrou trying to keep in line with how the Blues are playing collectively.
'It's been really impressive to watch what their team has done since the 4 Nations tournament,' he said. 'I bet five people in the organization have said to me, 'You can't believe how good the room is.' When you're part of that, you don't want to be the guy who's the outlier. I think a guy like Jordan can get caught up in that, where sometimes he's the benefactor of other people's work. But it seems like he's more involved in it now than in the past.'
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Which bodes well for the playoffs.
Without Kyrou's linemate, Dylan Holloway, who's out week to week with a lower-body injury, the Blues will be dealing with a Winnipeg offense that finished the regular season tied for No. 3 in the NHL in goals per game (3.35).
'Playoffs are tougher, so everyone's got to elevate their game,' Kyrou said. 'They're a heavy team and they play a physical game. They're really good in the O-zone, so we've got to be good in our D-zone. Everyone's going 100 mph, all out, and then it settles down and you get to the details of the game and what you need to do to win.'
That's spoken like a leader.
'Yes, he does it within who he is, which is a true sign of leadership,' Montgomery said. 'He's not the guy that's going to be rah-rah in the room, and that's OK because we have enough of those guys. But he really helps our core leadership group grow.'
That's not something that would've been said about Kyrou in the past. But his game has come around, and Thomas is glad to see that fans have come around, too.
'When he came in the league, someone so young, so skilled … you can always find holes in a young person's game,' Thomas said. 'But when you're so dynamic and trying to create so much, you're going to have flaws in your game. I just think the effort he's put in to make himself more polished, it's something everyone should be really proud of him for.'