What will the St. Louis Blues do now?
The St. Louis Blues traded Jordan Kyrou to the Washington Capitals for the 16th overall pick, Connor McMichael and Milton Gästrin.
As Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic notes, the Blues now hold four picks in the first round, including the 11th, 15th, 16th, and 29th.
History shows drafting three or more times in the first round never ends well. Expectations are that the Blues will move some of these picks.
Steven Ellis: “The St. Louis Blues have three picks by No. 16, and four first-rounders total. Can’t see that lasting. But that draft capital is insane.”
Marco D’Amico: “After the Kyrou trade, the St. Louis Blues now have a whopping four 1st-round picks in the 2026 NHL Draft:
11th
15th
16th
29th
Being told it’s not very likely to stay that way.”
The Offers Need to Improve if the Winnipeg Jets are Going to Trade Connor Hellebuyck
Does the Jordan Kyrou move signal Alex Ovechkin to come back?
The Washington Capitals needed a top-six goal scorer. They landed Jordan Kyrou from the St. Louis Blues. Kyrou waived his no-trade clause to go there. Washington has needed this top-six goal scorer for some time now.
NHL Rumors: DeBrusk, Pettersson, Raddysh, Carlson, Zacha, Hischier, Thomas, Benn, and Ovechkin
There has been unrest and uncertainty surrounding the Capitals and Alex Ovechkin. However, this move could signal to him to come back and sign for another season or two.
Jim Biringer: “With Jordan Kyrou heading to Washington and Connor McMichael heading to St. Louis this was the top six player the Capitals needed and had been looking for.
Is this move enough to get Alex Ovechkin to re-sign this summer? He has always been waiting to see what Washington does. #allcaps”
Sammi Silber: The Capitals have just over $23 million in cap space to work with. After Connor McMichael was traded, they may look to add another left winger. Ryan Leonard said earlier this season that he is comfortable playing on the left wing if needed.
NHL Rumors: Offer Sheets, Sergei Bobrovsky, and Connor Bedard
New Jersey Devils are not finished
The Sunny Mehta Era in New Jersey began with a splash as the Devils sent Simon Nemec to the Calgary Flames. They got two conditional firsts, one in 2027 (Vegas), one in 2028 (Colorado), and a second-round pick in the 206 NHL Draft at their disposal. The Devils are looking to move on from those picks and may flip one or both to improve their roster.
Keep an eye on the Devils as a big player this week.
The return for this trade includes two future first round picks and a second round pick. Opens up a lot of options for new GM Sunny Mehta moving forward. https://t.co/sPjQqEv0HA
— Emily Kaplan (@emilymkaplan) June 23, 2026
The Senators are still looking at defense
Even after acquiring William Eklund from San Jose, the Ottawa Senators are not done, as they are still looking to move more of those picks to help their roster succeed now.
Steve Staios doesn’t intend to sit back and wait to improve his roster, per Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen. They were looking for a high-end forward, someone to play with Tim Stutzle and a top-four defenseman.
NHL Rumors: Ottawa Senators Looking to Make a Big Splash This Offseason
“My intention is to be active in the market, continue to add to already a very strong group, committed group that continues to move in the right direction. We’ve made the playoffs in back-to-back years, haven’t had the result in the playoffs as of yet, but I think if you, if you look at it honestly, teams like ours and the way they’re constructed and the way they’re built, we’re giving ourselves a chance,” said Staios.
We had to restart our X account. Please follow @MyNHLRumorsX
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? Rumor roundups and hot topics from around the league. We’re also posting some stuff on Instagram.
If you love our reporting, choose NHLrumors.com as a preferred source on Google.
