Canadiens among teams interested in Kyrou
Published
As the clock ticks down towards the opening of NHL free agency on Tuesday, the Montreal Canadiens continue to be active, showing interest in St. Louis Blues winger Jordan Kyrou, Pierre LeBrun reports in The Athletic.
Kyrou's full no-trade clause kicks in on Tuesday and LeBrun says the Blues have been talking with several teams, including the Canadiens, to see what the market is for the top-six winger before his no-trade comes into place.
The 27-year-old is heading into the third season of an eight-year, $65 million contract that carries a cap hit of $8.1 million.
He had 36 goals and 70 points in 82 games last season for the Blues and had three goals in seven playoff games. The former second-round pick of the Blues has 150 goals and 332 points in 416 career games.
The Canadiens made a big splash on draft day Friday, acquiring right-shot defenceman Noah Dobson from the New York Islanders in exchange for forward Emil Heineman and two first-round picks (No. 16 and No. 17 in Friday's draft that became Victor Eklund and Kashawn Aitcheson).
LeBrun notes that the Canadiens would need to clear more cap space to accommodate a Kyrou trade. Montreal is currently $3,394,166 million over the salary cap after inking Dobson to an eight-year, $76 million contract over the weekend and they still have Carey Price's $10.5 million cap hit on the books for one more season.
The Canadiens have three players who are unrestricted free agents in forwards Joel Armia, Christian Dvorak and Michael Pezzetta, while defenceman Jayden Struble and goaltender Jakob Dobes are restricted free agents in need of new contracts.