The Washington Capitals finally landed the top six forward they have wanted to add for a long time.
NEWS | The Washington Capitals have acquired forward Jordan Kyrou from the St. Louis Blues for forwards Connor McMichael and Milton Gastrin and Washington’s first-round pick (16th overall) in the 2026 NHL Draft.#ALLCAPS | @Shift4
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) June 23, 2026
Today, the Caps acquired Jordan Kyrou from the St. Louis Blues in exchange for Connor McMichael, Miles Gastrin, and the 16th overall pick in Friday’s NHL Draft. After expressing interest in upgrading their forward ranks for what seems like forever, the Caps have finally added a to help them. The speedy Kyrou is signed through the 2031 season for $8.125 million per year and should slot into the right wing on a line with Dylan Strome and Alex Ovechkin, if he returns next season.
The Caps were rumored to have interest in Kyrou around the deadline and now have landed him, although it certainly didn’t come cheap. After the Darren Raddysh and Brady Tkachuk deals set the market, the Caps knew that any trade they made would be expensive. With the salary cap increasing to $104 million for 2026-27, many teams resigned their core players to long term deals, preventing them from becoming free agent and leaving this summer’s free agent market pretty thin. With a lot of teams looking to deal, the Caps had to make a move or be left out.
Kyrou put up 70 points or more in a season three times, skating predominantly on the top line with Robert Thomas and Pavel Buchnevich last season. He did have a down season, finishing with 18 goals and 46 points in 72 games for the cellar dwelling Blues. He should see a resurgence in Washington as he will be on a younger and deeper roster that just missed the playoffs by one point this past season.
Losing Connor McMichael, the Caps first round pick in 2020, will sting a bit. McMichael was an important part of the locker room and a fan favorite. McMichael’s speed and smarts made him a vital part of the Caps, and he scored a career high 57 points (26 goals and 31 assists) two seasons ago. His name was in and out of trader rumors the past couple of years, so it doesn’t come as a surprise. With other teams competing to add skilled forwards, general manager Chris Patrick knew he would have to sacrifice a good player to get another one back.
Swedish center Gastrin was drafted by the Caps last season in the second round and is projected to one day be a bottom six center. The fact that Patrick did not have to part with highly rated prospects Andrew Cristall or Terik Parascek is a good thing for the Capitals prospect pool, although with Gastrin gone, the Caps do not have a lot in the way of NHL caliber center prospects. The Capitals still have the no. 18 overall pick, giving the them a chance to draft a promising young center to fill the void.
That is, unless Patrick has another trade up his sleeve. There is still time before the draft gets underway on Friday evening.
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