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The trade rumors are picking up these days, and it makes sense. The NHL is in the second wave of the trade deadline, where some teams want to get their work done before the Olympic break, so names are getting tossed around, and the fans speculate. The player the Philadelphia Flyers, and certainly the fanbase want from the Blues is Robert Thomas. He’s a center who has played at a high level for years and is in his prime, making him an ideal player to add.
The player the Flyers should target is Jordan Kyrou, who has flown under the radar in recent seasons but has the talent to make a significant impact and check a lot of boxes for this team.
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The St. Louis Blues have lost three games in a row and have the third-worst record in the Western Conference, a good indication of a seller. The Philadelphia Flyers are a borderline playoff team but after signing Christian Dvorak last week and building up a competitive team, there’s a good chance they add at the trade deadline.
The player, the Flyers, and certainly the fanbase want from the Blues is Robert Thomas. He’s a center who has played at a high level for years and is in his prime, making him an ideal player to add. The player the Flyers should target is Jordan Kyrou, who has flown under the radar in recent seasons but has the talent to make a significant impact and check a lot of boxes for this team.
The Asking Price is Reasonable for the Flyers
Thomas will require a big haul to acquire. He’s a center who has 11 goals and 22 assists this season and averages 19 goals and 50 assists per season. The Blues will want at least two top prospects in any Thomas trade if not more, considering he’s not a rental and, more importantly, a player to build around.
Kyrou, meanwhile, won’t demand that price. Instead, he’s seen as a complementary piece to take a good team and put it over the hump. Players like him aren’t traded for multiple pieces, and the Flyers can probably trade one prospect to make the move work.
The Flyers aren’t interested in going all-in, and considering they are still adding youth to the lineup, they don’t want to give up too many future pieces for a player. A Kyrou trade allows them to upgrade without mortgaging the future. The other plus is that Kyrou has five seasons left on his contract, so general manager (GM) Daniel Briere wouldn’t be adding a rental either if he made this trade.
The Kyrou & Zegras Parallels
Trevor Zegras is having a remarkable season with the Flyers, leading the team in goals (17) and assists (24). It’s easy to forget that the Flyers were taking a risk when they acquired him from the Anaheim Ducks. He showed off the upside in his early days but appeared to hit a wall, with only 18 goals and 29 assists in his final two seasons with the team.
The same thing, to a lesser degree, is happening with Kyrou. He showed star potential early in his career but has fallen out of favor with the Blues lately, especially this season, where he only has eight goals and 18 assists in 36 games. A team will give him that chance to find his footing, and the Flyers can be that team.
Kyrou, like Zegras, plays the wing and not center. It’s why the Flyers wouldn’t make him a top target. That said, he’s shown flexibility early in his career and spent time at center. The Flyers can make this move and play him on the right wing in the top six. Then, they can test him out at center the same way they’ve done a few times with Zegras, since his skills can translate to that role.
Kyrou Upgrades The Offense
The Flyers average only 2.95 goals per game and need an extra spark on offense. The past two games against the Tampa Bay Lightning were indicative that if they want to make noise in the playoffs, they must add firepower.
The fit is a question but Kyrou has the talent to outweigh those issues. He can move around in the forward unit, and the Flyers will make it work. Better yet, he can do so without them making a blockbuster trade.
A bonus is that his brother, Christian Kyrou, plays defense for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in the American Hockey League (AHL). So, they can talk about how Pennsylvania is a great state to live in and, more importantly, the Flyers are an organization worth waiving a no-trade clause for (the cheesesteaks and soft pretzels outweigh the state taxes).
The question is what the Flyers would give up to make a Kyrou trade work. They have a surplus of prospects in the pipeline and must figure out which ones will be the building blocks. Alex Bump is a talented winger for the Phantoms but with other wingers passing him by, notably Denver Barkey, who is part of the NHL roster, he’s become expendable and the player they can move. Sure, the Flyers don’t want to give up a player like Bump, who can be a reliable part of the middle six. That said, it’s worthwhile if it helps them add Kyrou, who helps them contend now and for the next five seasons.
