New Jersey Devils need to pursue star winger Jordan Kyrou to round out top six

New Jersey Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald has made several moves so far to retool the team's roster. Adding players like Connor Brown and Evgenii Dadonov, as well as bringing back Cody Glass, were all important for the bottom six. Fitzgerald also needs to re-sign Luke Hughes, which he's made his top priority. However, they still need to add to the top six, and there's a potential option out there that would make the Devils' top forward group one of the most dangerous in the National Hockey League.

On Monday, Frank Seravalli reported that the St. Louis Blues were entertaining the possibility of trading their star forward, Jordan Kyrou. Now, to be fair, this statement came before the July 1st date, in which Kyrou's No-Trade Clause kicked in. Now, Kyrou has the control to decide if he wants to be moved or not, and who he would be ok with going to. While trading for him got a bit more challenging, that shouldn't stop Fitzgerald from swinging for a player of Kyrou's ability. He's a perfect fit for what the Devils need in their top six.

Since coming into the league in 2018-19, Kyrou has gotten progressively better. In each of his last three seasons, including 2024-25, the right-shot winger has tallied 30 or more goals. On top of that, he's been consistent with dishing the puck to his teammates with 30+ assists in those last three years. It's not just the stats that stand out, but the eye test as well. Another plus is his age. He just turned 27 this past May. He fits in well with the overall age of the team's main forward core of Nico Hischier, Jack Hughes, Jesper Bratt, and Timo Meier.

When you watch Kyrou, you see a player who can push the play, has good stick-handling ability, the speed to burn, and an elite shot. He's a near-perfect top-six scorer the Devils have been looking for. He's a guy who can also be lethal on a New Jersey power play that, while it was good in the regular season, went ice cold in the playoffs. His seven power-play goals last campaign would've made him third on the Devils with Meier. As mentioned earlier, Kyrou has the speed that can help New Jersey return to the pace they achieved in 2022-23. He can be one of the fastest skaters in the game and match up with other top players like Connor McDavid.

What gets tricky are two things. The first is, if the Devils can make a trade for Kyrou and he wants to come, how would they make the money work? Per PuckPedia, Kyrou will start year three of his eight-year deal with a cap hit of $8.125 million AAV. The Devils currently have just under $7 million in cap space. They still need to re-sign Luke Hughes as well. Either way, money has to and will be moved. Players like Ondrej Palat ($6 million for two more years), Dougie Hamilton ($9 million for three more years), and Dawson Mercer ($4 million for two more years) may be moved to create space.

That leads me to what a trade for Kyrou would look like. Most likely, the Blues will not only want a young, plug-in player but draft picks and maybe even a top prospect for the Toronto, Ontario, Canada, star winger. The Devils could offer a package of Dawson Mercer, a first or two in 2026, '27, or '28, and someone like Seamus Casey to St. Louis. Whether or not that entices the Blues is up to them to decide. A deal could be done, but it would certainly require some work.

All of that being said, Fitzgerald and the Devils, without question, need to push to acquire Kyrou if he is truly available. They need a big move to take them to the next level of Stanley Cup contention, and adding a player like him would do just that.