Examining The Blues’ Offseason Thus Far
Now that the dust has settled on the NHL Entry Draft and the early days of free agency, it’s fair to begin making sense of the direction certain teams are headed. One of the busier and more interesting teams this offseason has been the St. Louis Blues, who have taken a no-holds-barred approach to retooling their roster, including the trades of forward Jordan Kyrou and multiple first-round picks, as well as the Jonathan Drouin buyout. The Blues have also been busy adding to their lineup, bringing in forwards Connor McMichael and Mason McTavish, as well as defenseman Brandon Carlo and prospect Milton Gastrin. All of it looks dishevelled and all over the place, but for a team that has badly needed a retool, it’s a decent start for the Blues, though it’s a risky one as well.
The risky moves involve Kyrou and McTavish, and it’s hard to say which move carries more risk. Trading Kyrou was certainly a gamble, as he is a bona fide top-six forward who can put up offense. While he is talented, Kyrou struggled offensively last season, and it’s fair to wonder if the Blues sold low on the 28-year-old until you look at the return. St. Louis received forward McMichael, the number 16 selection in this year’s draft, and the aforementioned Gastrin, which was fair value for the highly sought-after Kyrou. Some might wonder why St. Louis felt compelled to deal Kyrou, but there was clearly something off about the core in St. Louis, which appeared so talented on paper yet was unable to get it done on the ice. Kyrou and McMichael suffered from the same affliction last season, namely that their talent levels didn’t line up with their on-ice production. A fresh start should work out well for both of them.
The other major risk for St. Louis was dealing two first-round picks for McTavish, who has a ton of upside and is just 24 years old. Like Kyrou, McTavish had a down year, and Anaheim elected to sell low, although St. Louis paid a hefty price for the former third-overall pick. There are concerns about McTavish’s skating, but St. Louis probably isn’t concerned about the top-end speed of their power forward with the heavy shot. That will be the risk with McTavish, though, because as good as his hands are and as accurate as his shot is, he needs to get around the ice with some pace, and it remains to be seen whether he will improve that.
Then there was the buyout of Drouin, which, in a vacuum, made sense given that he was owed $4MM and had dramatically underperformed last season in the first year of his two-year deal. Drouin had signed the contract last summer with the New York Islanders, who quickly realized he wasn’t a fit and moved him as part of the trade for Brayden Schenn. Drouin had been an effective player in the years prior while with the Colorado Avalanche, but didn’t fit with the Islanders or the Blues last season and is now a UFA. What made the Drouin buyout odd is that the Blues didn’t really use the savings on another move (other than the Ross Johnston signing) and instead opted to keep the cap space available. But with a full roster of 23 and over $10MM available, it’s possible they don’t spend it. It could be that St. Louis is staying under an internal cap and needed to save actual dollars, which might be the only real explanation for buying out a player who could’ve had some value at the NHL Trade Deadline if he had a bounce-back season.
The signing of Johnston was one of the only other major pieces of news for the Blues on the first day of free agency, as they kept things quiet, signing only him to a three-year, $6MM deal, and Dillon Dube to a one-year deal at the league minimum. Johnston will bring sandpaper to the Blues’ lineup and is effectively just an enforcer at this stage of his career, while Dube will be an unknown at the NHL level, having not played an NHL game since January 2024.
Overall, it’s hard to fault St. Louis for wanting to be proactive in their retooling rather than waiting around for prospects and picks to hopefully work out. By converting Kyrou and their extra first-round picks into young, NHL-ready talent, St. Louis has made themselves more difficult to play against and kept intact a fairly young core that also includes Robert Thomas, Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway. They didn’t go about things in the most cohesive manner, but there are times in the NHL when teams make moves to set up something bigger down the road or as part of a bigger plan. The Blues are a team in transition at the moment, and some of the moves made should inject energy into a group that had perhaps become a little stale and a little pessimistic about some of the trades made towards the end of last season, when some key pieces were sent out the door at the trade deadline. St. Louis got younger this summer, and it’s hard to judge the totality of their moves until the team takes to the ice next October.
Blues Loan Milton Gastrin To SHL
The St. Louis Blues won’t hold on to a player acquired in Jordan Kyrou‘s move to the Washington Capitals. The Blues have loaned centerman Milton Gastrin to the SHL’s Brynas IF for the 2026-27 season. Gastrin has yet to fully move over from Sweden’s pro leagues, though he did make his AHL debut with a single appearance in the 2026 Calder Cup Playoffs. Now on a new squad, Gastrin will head back to Sweden’s pros for another season.
A return to Sweden will also mark a return to the SHL for Gastrin, who spent last season in the HockeyAllsvenskan following MoDo Hockey’s demotion in 2025. The minor-pro league proved a stable spot for the young center. He notched 10 goals and 24 points in 39 games on the year, sixth-most on MoDo and fifth among U21 players in the league. That performance helped Gastrin plant his feet among pros after debuting in the SHL with eight scoreless games in 2024-25. He coupled those appearances with a dominant season at the U20 level, scoring 42 points in 40 games.
Gastrin was also a standout at the international level through his junior career. He captained Sweden to a Bronze Medal at the 2024 U17 World Hockey Challenge and Hlinka Gretzky Cup and a Silver Medal at the 2025 World U18 Junior Challenge, as well as joining Sweden en route to a Gold Medal at the 2026 World Junior Championship.
The 19-year-old Gastrin will boast interesting, long-term promise for the Blues organization. He has stood out as a capable, two-way center through his young career – even posting a 46.86 faceoff percentage on 414 draws in his first pro year. Gastrin will need to continue developing his skating and physical game against top-level competition. A move to Brynas should foster that success, after the club finished sixth in the SHL before losing in the quarter-finals. Gastrin will compete for a middle-six, center role while eyeing a potential return to the AHL on the other side of the 2026-27 season.
Washington Capitals Acquire Jordan Kyrou
After months, even years, of trade speculation, Jordan Kyrou is finally moving on from the St. Louis Blues. According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Blues have traded Kyrou to the Washington Capitals. A few moments later, the Capitals announced the trade, sharing that forward Connor McMichael, forward Milton Gästrin, and Washington’s 2026 first-round pick (16th overall) are headed to the Blues.
The Alexander Steen era begins with one of the most expected moves of the Blues’ offseason. It wasn’t an expectation that Kyrou would ultimately land with the Capitals, but there was every reason to believe that he wouldn’t be back in St. Louis next season.
The upside to Kyrou’s game is well known at this point. Last Sunday, PHR’s Gabriel Foley described Kyrou’s offensive abilities at length, saying, “Kyrou’s ability to score is his defining trait. He has scored 149 goals in 389 games since the start of the 2021-22 season – ranked 37th in total goals and 43rd in goals-per-game among the full NHL in that span. Flashier than his goal-scoring is Kyrou’s knack for driving play. He serves as St. Louis’ spark plug, often stepping up as the once to kickoff a change in momentum even in the midst of an 18-goal performance this season. The Blues lean on Kyrou to bring energy into the rush – and an improved ability to keep that energy up without the puck on his stick has earned Selke Trophy votes in each of the last two seasons.”
Unfortunately, Kyrou experienced some serious regression last season. After registering 36 goals and 70 points in 82 games during the 2024-25 campaign, Kyrou’s production fell to 18 goals and 46 points in 72 games last season.
Given his track record beforehand, there’s every reason to believe that Kyrou can rebound. Followed by trade speculation for some time, not every player can handle that noise with grace. Now having a fresh start in Washington, Kyrou will be relied upon to keep up the Capitals’ heavy offense as they transition out of the Alex Ovechkin era.
That isn’t to say that the trade isn’t a gamble on Washington’s end, however. Kyrou is signed through the 2030-31 season at an $8.125MM salary, and if he can’t reach his offensive heights again, let alone the 20-goal mark, that will be a bad-looking contract regardless of the rising upper limit of the salary cap.
For St. Louis, they were able to move out of Kyrou’s hefty contract after a disappointing campaign, without retaining salary, mind you, for a decent collection of assets.
McMichael, 25, will become a restricted free agent on July 1st, giving St. Louis the freedom to sign him to the best contract as they see fit. He had a nearly identical season to the one Kyrou had last year, registering 14 goals and 46 points in 78 games. The previous year, he scored 26 goals and recorded a total of 57 points in 82 games.
Additionally, unlike Kyrou, McMichael plays center. He’s not the best at faceoffs, but it was known that the Blues had an eye on center depth this offseason behind Robert Thomas, and McMichael fits that billing for the time being. His career 43.0% faceoff rate leaves plenty to be desired, but there’s no question that McMichael is a defensively responsible center with the ability to put up points.
St. Louis has also acquired Gästrin, who made his professional debut with the AHL’s Hershey Bears during the 2026 Calder Cup playoffs. Selected with the 37th overall pick of last year’s draft by the Capitals, Gästrin, 19, played his post-draft campaign with the HockeyAllsvenskan’s MoDo Hockey, scoring 10 goals and 24 points in 39 games. Despite being further away in his development, like McMichael, Gästrin is a strong center who plays responsibly in all three zones.
Lastly, unless any of them are flipped before Friday, the Blues now have four picks in the first round of the upcoming 2026 NHL Draft, the highest of which is their own at 11th overall. Given how much interest there has been in moving into the top-five, St. Louis could conceivably package all of these selections to move into the top-five and add a true high-impact player to their organization.
Photo courtesy of James Carey Lauder of Imagn Images.
Minor Transactions: 4/16/2026
The wave of minor-league assignments is continuing with the NHL regular season nearly completed. Pro Hockey Rumors will continue to track the movement around the AHL in the latest minor transactions tracker:
- The Philadelphia Flyers have recalled goalie prospect Carson Bjarnason in preperation for their first round matchup against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Bjarnason will serve as a black ace with the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms eliminated from playoff contention. Bjarnason recorded 14 wins and a .887 save percentage in 32 AHL games this season. He also split results, and recorded a .881 save percentage, in two ECHL games. This was Bjarnason’s first year of professional hockey after four seasons with the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings. The 20 year old recorded a .903 save percentage across 156 career games in the WHL.
- The Colorado Avalanche are also padding their room of black aces, recalling forwards Alex Barre-Boulet and Jason Polin. Both players spent the bulk of their year in the AHL. Barre-Boulet led the Colorado Eagles with 26 goals and 70 points in 69 games – and added one assist in the only NHL game of his season. Polin was slightly less productive, with 21 points in 45 AHL games and no scoring in three NHL games. The duo will offer forward depth behind an Avalanche squad that has rotated through injuries this season.
- Forward Cole O’Hara could make his NHL debut in the Nashville Predators’ season finale. The 23 year old has been called up after leading the Milwaukee Admirals in goals (19) and ranking fourth in points (44) through 65 games this season. This was also O’Hara’s first pro season after three years at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. He had a breakout season last year, netting 22 goals and 51 points in 40 games – 33 more points than he managed in 37 games of the 2023-24 season. O’Hara kept that scoring up through his rookie season in the AHL and could now get a chance to score against NHL talent.
- Headed back to the minors is goaltender Brandon Halverson, who recently helped the Tampa Bay Lightning respond to Jonas Johansson‘s short-term injury. Halverson recorded one loss and a .810 save percentage in 57 minutes – and two games – of NHL action this season. He started for the Syracuse Crunch for much of the year and recorded 24 wins and a .906 save percentage in 42 AHL games. He’ll now return to his post to help Syracuse keep up their strong play into the Calder Cup Playoffs.
- The Calgar Flames have also called up a goaltender. Prospect Arsenii Sergeev is on the NHL roster under emergency conditions with Devin Cooley set to miss Calgary’s season finale due to illness. Sergeev will make his NHL debut in game 82. The 24 year old recorded five wins and a .898 save percentage in 28 AHL games this season. He also split results, and recorded a .922 save percentage, in 12 ECHL games. Sergeev was a strong starter in college, recording save percentages north of .910 in two seasons with the University of Connecticut and one season at Pennsylvania State University. Thursday could be the bright side to a quiet season for the first-year pro.
- Top Edmonton Oilers prospect Isaac Howard has been loaned to the AHL. He will support the Bakersfield Condors’ push in the Calder Cup Playoffs. Howard scored 22 goals and 47 points in 45 AHL games this season. He ranked second in goals on Bakersfield and was the only Condor to score above a point-per-game pace this season. Howard also scored five points in the first 29 games of his NHL career this season. The 2025 Hobey Baker Award winner is also a first-year pro and should fill a substantial role in the AHL postseason.
- The Washington Capitals have assigned 2025 second-round pick Milton Gastrin to the AHL following the end of his season in Sweden’s HockeyAllsvenskan. Gastrin racked up 10 goals and 24 points in 39 games in Sweden’s second-tier pro league and added four more points in 13 playoff games. He scored 42 points in 40 games in Sweden’s U20 league in the 2024-25 season. The bulky Gastrin should bring a boost of forechecking pressure and playmaking ability to the Hershey Bears lineup just in time for their perennial run into the postseason.
- A cohort of top prospects is headed to the Grand Rapids Griffins. The Detroit Red Wings have assigned Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, Carter Mazur, Axel Sandin Pellikka, and Dominik Shine to the minor leagues. Brandsegg-Nygard finished the year third on the Griffins in scoring with 44 points in 58 games. He added one assist in 14 NHL games. Shine finished the year with 37 points in 38 AHL games and three points in 18 NHL games. Mazur was also a point-per-game player in the minors, with 15 points in 14 AHL games – but no scoring in eight NHL appearances. Of the bunch, Sandin-Pellikka was the only to play the bulk of his year in the NHL. He scored 21 points in 68 games of his first season in North America. The quartet should each assume top-end roles on a Griffins lineup that has added a substantial amount of talent late in the season.
Metropolitan Notes: Devils, Capitals, Rangers
The New Jersey Devils have announced that Evgenii Dadonov has been placed on injured reserve, and in a corresponding move, they have recalled Brian Halonen from AHL Utica.
Given Dadonov’s fractured hand, there was some speculation earlier today as to what the Devils would do. Rather than turn to a younger prospect, New Jersey has called upon Halonen, 26. Undrafted out of Michigan Tech University, Halonen has spent the past four seasons with the Utica Comets, including a 27-goal breakout last year. His efforts have led to two brief call-ups in the past, two games apiece in the last two years, where the Minnesota native has not yet recorded a point.
In place of Dadonov, the team could turn to fellow Russian Arseny Gritsyuk for a larger role, having already impressed as a 24-year-old rookie out of the KHL, with two assists in as many games. Meanwhile, Halonen will provide depth and hope to slot into the team’s bottom six. Dadonov, 36, was brought in last summer on a one year, $1MM deal, however, he has been a steady offensive presence in 617 NHL games, and was a candidate to outperform the contract. The injury in his Devils’ debut is undoubtedly a set-back, but unfortunately New Jersey is no stranger to such adversity, especially after last season.
Elsewhere across the Metropolitan Division:
- Chris Cerullo of Russian Machine Never Breaks outlined an interesting draft story from Washington last June. As seen in a behind-the-scenes video posted by the team, the Capitals aggressively tried to move up ten spots or more to select Lynden Lakovic, the talented Moose Jaw Warriors winger. Such efforts proved futile, however, the Caps’ brass watched on the edge of their seats as Lakovic remained on the board. Finally, after Nashville selected Ryker Lee at 26, Washington jumped to snag the 6’4” forward. Lakovic remains in the WHL this season, but forecasts as a big part of the Capitals’ future, as another forward with imposing size. As time goes on, it will be fascinating to see how Lakovic, along with each forward taken before him, pans out; especially given the hypotheticals. As also mentioned in the article, the Capitals were thrilled again when Milton Gastrin, their second-round selection, also fell into their laps.
- Rangers Head Coach Mike Sullivan told Colin Stephenson of Newsday Sports that Jonathan Quick will handle starting duty for the Blueshirts tonight as they host the Capitals. The news is not surprising, given Igor Shesterkin’s usage last night in Pittsburgh. However, it will be interesting to see how much the 39-year-old Quick is deployed this season, and what he still has to offer. Stephenson also mentioned that young defenseman Matthew Robertson will slot into the lineup for Carson Soucy, who was placed on IR earlier today.
Strategic Drafting Will Keep Capitals Competitive
The Washington Capitals seemed well on their way towards reclusion a few seasons ago. They managed to win the first Stanley Cup in franchise history in 2018 – but by 2022, only eight members of the Cup-winning roster were still in Washington. The club fell entirely out of the postseason by 2023, marking their first summer absence since 2015. That miss sparked an upheaval of the Capitals’ coaching staff. The new group – headmanned by rookie NHL head coach Spencer Carbery – has returned the Capitals to the playoffs on the back of a clear ability to develop certain styles.
The Capitals have leaned into Carbery’s vision for the lineup in all aspects of their roster building – but most notably, in their draft selections. A team once honed in on finding the balance between high-offense forwards and all-defense defenders has steadied over the last two draft classes. In doing so, Washington has not only found their way back to the postseason – but also managed to surge to the top ranks of NHL prospect pools.
Their class is undoubtedly led by first-round picks Ryan Leonard, Terik Parascak, and Lynden Lakovic. All three play a chippy, physical style of hockey – with strong shots and a clear ability to find space off of the boards and in the corners. Their physical upside speaks to some layer of certainty in the bump-and-grind Capitals lineup, even if it requires the extra years of development, akin to Connor McMichael and Hendrix Lapierre, the latter of who appeared to come along with a hot year in the AHL.
But the Capitals reach the tops of prospect value with their picks outside of the first-round. Their group may be most truly headlined by defender Cole Hutson, who posted an absurd 48 points in 39 games of his freshman season at Boston University. He was the Terriers’ top defender as they raced to a National Championship loss, and is the younger brother of Montreal’s Lane Hutson, who recorded a record-setting 62 assists in his rookie NHL season this year.
Hutson is followed by towering forward Ilya Protas, the younger brother of current Capitals forward Aliaksei Protas. Ilya was drafted out of the USHL, but moved to the OHL for this season. That proved an incredibly lucrative bet, as the 6-foot-5 forward blazed his way to 50 goals and 124 points in just 61 games with the Windsor Spitfires. He improved across the board – adding smoother skating and more confident stickhandling – and seems well set on paving his way into the pros.
But through the top names, it’s winger Eriks Mateiko – a burly Latvian recently dominating the QMJHL – and Swiss-defender Leon Muggli who offer the truest glimpse into what Washington has prioritized. The team has consistently found ways to land not only tall, heavy draft picks — but players who play with a physical edge and truly know how to utilize their size to their advantage. That’s the exact trait that’s elevated players like Protas and McMichael to early-career success. Even the recent resurgence of Dylan Strome and Pierre-Luc Dubois can be attributed to Washington’s unique ability to take a calm and assertive approach to offense, rather the run-and-gun style many teams attempt to skill their way into.
Washington impressively flaunted their ability to land that style of player in the 2025 draft. Lakovic is a hefty winger who could improve his ability to break-through the defense – making him a perfect match in Washington – and fellow top-pick Milton Gastrin is a lumbering and slow centerman capable of making quick plays. But it’s, again, their late picks that define Washington’s potential. They swept up re-entry forward Jackson Crowder in the fifth round, folding in a layer of responsible and physical play in a 6-foot-3 frame. Better than that, Washington managed to land hefty Swedish defenseman Aron Dahlqvist in the sixth round — nearly three rounds later than many pundits predicted. Dahlqvist is a ball of grit and aggression, with powerful strides and fundamental hitting. He digs into opponents – and that physical prowess earned him 16 games in Sweden’s SHL this season, even despite the fact that Dahlqvist didn’t score in any of those appearances.
Both scouts and fans have raised questions with, seemingly, every Capitals prospect. But the team is clearly confident in the style they’re searching for. The focus is squarely on landing physically mature, and capable, players at every group — players that well fit into the development style that Carbery has already utilized on some of the 2024-25 squad’s top players. That should glean multiple NHL roster players, especially given the acknowledgement Washington’s pool has earned from the public sphere. The Capitals are back in the postseason and, with most of the roster locked up for the short-term, seem well positioned to return to their yearly summer hockey. With the boost of smart, situational drafting backing the NHL lineup – Washington, and head coach Carbery, could be well on their way to landing even more successful draft picks, and maintaining their status for many years to come.
Capitals Sign Milton Gästrin To Entry-Level Deal
July 7: The Capitals have officially loaned to MoDo for the 2025-26 season, the team announced Monday. It’s unclear if he’ll participate in training camp in the fall.
July 3: We have our first signing from last week’s 2025 NHL draft. The Capitals announced they’ve signed forward Milton Gästrin to his three-year, entry-level contract. It pays him a $877.5K base salary, $97.5K signing bonus, and $85K minors salary each season for a cap hit of $975K, per PuckPedia.
Gästrin will be loaned back to his home country and play for MoDo Hockey of Sweden’s second-tier league in 2025-26, the team said. The playmaking forward was the No. 37 overall selection last Saturday, taken with a pick Washington acquired from the Bruins in the 2023 deadline trade that sent Dmitry Orlov to Boston.
Fresh off his 18th birthday yesterday, Gästrin was the No. 3 European skater in the draft as ranked by NHL Central Scouting and was a consensus late first/early second-round pick in public rankings. The 6’1″, 194-lb center won medals with Sweden at both the Hlinka Gretzky Cup (bronze) and the under-18 World Juniors (silver) last season, racking up 11 goals and 32 points in 19 games in international competition for the U-18 squad.
In league play, Gästrin spent most of the season with MoDo’s U-20 squad in Sweden’s top junior league, the J20 Nationell. He served as an alternate captain and finished second on the team in scoring with 42 points in 40 games, tying for the team lead in goals with 18. He also made his professional debut, making eight pointless appearances for MoDo in the SHL. He’ll transition to a full-time professional role this fall, facing easier competition in the HockeyAllsvenskan after MoDo was relegated at the end of the 2024-25 season.
Because Gästrin will be loaned to MoDo and won’t see NHL action this season, his entry-level deal will slide to 2026-27 and won’t count against the 50-contract limit for Washington this year. He will still earn his $97.5K signing bonus for 2025-26, though, decreasing the cap hit of the contract when it goes into effect. He’s young enough that the contract is slide-eligible twice, so the deal won’t go into effect until 2027-28 if he also plays fewer than 10 NHL games in 2026-27.