On Tuesday, after an eerily quiet start to the summer, the Washington Capitals made a big trade, sending a first-round draft pick, Connor McMichael, and prospect Milton Gastrin to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for 28-year-old forward Jordan Kyrou.
Here now to yell at each other about the trade are me, Peter Hassett, and Ian Oland.
Peter: Ian, sir, we were just talking like yesterday about how quiet the Caps have been, and about how long it’s been since they’ve made a blockbuster trade. So is this a blockbuster trade? And on a scale from 🚽 to 🌮, how much do you love it?
Ian: I’m pretty middle of the road about the trade at this moment, so I guess in this emoji metaphor I’m sitting on the pot after eating the taco?
I think the Capitals needed to make a big splash – they had to – for a top-six forward. Getting someone who’s been a 30-goal scorer for three consecutive seasons is exciting. Just the price, I’m a little unenthused about. I feel like in a normal year, McMichael, who literally had the same exact amount of points as Kyrou (46) last season, and a second-round pick would have been enough to complete this deal, especially considering the salary disparity.
I’ve heard great things about Gastrin, too. He made his AHL debut in the postseason as an 18-year-old, and I got the feeling from Ilya Protas and Andrew Cristall that they thought he was going to be a good player. The 16th overall pick is pretty valuable, too.
For me, the thing I’m focused on and struggling with – is the fact that this was their one bullet to shoot, their one major bundle they were willing to deal: McMichael and that extra first they got after the John Carlson trade. And there are much bigger names being tossed around on the market that, to me, would have had a bigger impact and transformed the team more.
Peter: I plead ignorance on Gastrin, but I’ve heard you liking him in the past.
I went over this in my season review for McMichael, but I had lost hope for him. I won’t dismiss his points output, but he hadn’t developed into the player I hoped he’d be. Without Pierre-Luc Dubois last season, his weaknesses bothered me more and more. I wanted him to provide speedy rush offense, but his individual finish wasn’t there, and the tradeoff with opponent counterattacks kept getting worse. Meanwhile, Kyrou is a really strong defensive forward, and that alone encourages me.
But I hear you that it sorta ends the possibility of an even bigger Jason Roberston trade. That’s a bummer. Still, the economics of it for me feel good.
Will you miss McMichael or the 16th overall more? Which was the more significant asset?
Ian: I think they are of about equal value. At this point, I’d probably miss the 16th overall pick more, but when the Capitals drafted in this range recently, they’ve struck out a lot on developing a star player. They’ve hit more on their second and third-round picks lately. Think about Ilya Protas, Andrew Cristall, and Cole Hutson.
For me, I hadn’t lost hope for McMichael, but last year was a very disappointing year considering what he did in 2024-25 with PLD and Tom Wilson (26 goals, 31 assists). I still think he could turn into a 30-goal scorer himself with more opportunity, luck, and continued growth into his body.
The reason to deal him now though is that he didn’t develop into a center. Sourdif did, and has locked himself into a bottom-six role, while Ilya Protas is going to be a longtime fixture in the top six. McMichael became a surplus middle-six winger on this team with unpredictable results and a bigger contract coming. It was time to move on.
I feel less good about the economics just because Kyrou is 28 and sliding out of his prime, and he’s already making $8 million a year, whereas the Blues will likely end up with surplus value with the futures.
Peter: I think that’s an important point about a bigger contract coming for McMichael. His old contract is up this summer. The Caps didn’t trade the player per se; they traded his rights – even though they’re stronger rights, given McMichael is a restricted free agent. The twins at Evolving Hockey projected McMichael could get a 4 or 5-year deal worth $6.7M AAV. If the Caps announced that deal, I’d feel sick. I’d say curse words on Bluesky, where they would frown on that behavior if anyone were actually there.
Off the top of my head, I don’t know what the percentage chance is that a 16th overall pick becomes a full-time NHLer or a star – but I think it’s really unlikely that the projected value is more than 420 games (five years of 84-game seasons, barf) of Jordan Kyrou, even when he’s at the advanced and disgusting age of over 30.
But what I wanna know from you is where this leaves the Caps. McMichael was half-wing, half-center. Kyrou is pure wing. Feels like they badly need a center, right?
Ian: I think they have four good centers: Dylan Strome, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Ilya Protas, and Justin Sourdif. I just think the problem is, three of the four lack foot speed in a Spencer Carbery system where he wants to push the pace and play man-to-man defense.
I think at some point they will have to trade one of those slower centers. The only obvious candidate is Dylan Strome, who provides incredible value on his deal and is beloved on the team. He’s coming off a really concerning season at 5v5 though.
That’s going to be another tough decision at some point
Peter: See, this is my problem. I overlooked Ilya Protas. Hard to do, considering the sheer mass of the dude. Won’t make that mistake again.
I didn’t love Strome’s season on defense, but I’m more optimistic about him. When I crunched the numbers, his biggest drop-off was on secondary assists. And I think they’re fake and should be abolished. Same with the draft, but for different reasons.
If they trade Strome, I’ll surely do more cursing on the internet.
Final thoughts? A good day or a bad day for the Washington Capitals?
Ian: I think it’s a good day certainly, especially considering the current market and how every elite top six player wants to play for the same 3 to 4 teams. Haha. But if this is all they do this summer to improve the top six, I’m not sure how much it moves the needle. I hope it’s a lot, but it might just be some.
Personally, I really enjoyed covering Connor McMichael and I really just enjoyed watching him play and operate as a fan. My favorite memory of him was when after the Bears won the Calder Cup in 2023, he handed me his Calder Cup championship hat and told me to put it on and take a picture with it. He said, “You’re a Calder Cup champion, too.”
He’s a great guy, very funny, and I wish him nothing but the best in St. Louis.
Peter: Well put.
And I think we’re going to like Kyrou. A fast guy who can score, who wants to be here – as evidenced by his waiving his no-trade clause. He’s going to get more ice time, and he’s going to have some fun linemates around him. It’s going to be fun.
And for now, I’m just glad I can tune out rumors until the draft. I’ve had notifications turned on on my phone for the past week, and I cannot stand to hear one more word about Bo Byram or Dylan Larkin. Elliotte Friedman is getting muted. If the Caps get Robertson, you’re going to have to text me.
Thank you, Ian, for this very polite argument. Now please blink twice if Ovi is going to re-sign.
Ian: [blinks twice]
(I honestly thought we’d yell more.)
