Jordan Kyrou signs 8-year, $65M US deal with Blues after career-best season

The St. Louis Blues have signed forward Jordan Kyrou to an eight-year contract extension worth $65 million US, the organization's latest move to keep its top young players in the fold long term.

Kyrou set career highs with 27 goals, 48 assists and 75 points in 74 games last season. He had 47 points in his first 99 NHL regular-season games.

Thomas is 23, while Kyrou is 24. St. Louis also has top-four defencemen Colton Parayko, Torey Krug, Justin Faulk and Nicky Leddy signed for at least the next four seasons, and centre Brayden Schenn is under contract for six more years.

Two big questions still face the front office with key members of that title-winning team: Top centre Ryan O'Reilly and winger Vladimir Tarasenko are each set to be a free agent after this upcoming season.

O'Reilly figures to be part of the long-term core, something that's far less certain with Tarasenko, who requested a trade in the summer of 2021 but remains with St. Louis.

Chicago's McCabe has spinal surgery

Chicago defenceman Jake McCabe will miss the start of the season after he had cervical spine surgery.

McCabe, who turns 29 on Oct. 12, had four goals and a career-best 18 assists in 75 games last season. He signed a $16 million, four-year contract with Chicago in July 2021.

Forward prospect Jalen Luypen also will miss the start of the season because of a left rotator cuff injury. The team said he is expected to return in 14 to 18 weeks.

The 20-year-old Luypen was selected by Chicago in the seventh round of the 2021 draft. He signed an entry level contract in August that runs through the 2024-25 season with a salary-cap hit of $859,166.67.

Stars extend GM Nill 1 year

The Dallas Stars have signed general manager Jim Nill to a one-year contract extension through 2023-24 season.

Nill is going into his 10th season with the Stars, which was the last year on his current deal before the extension announced Tuesday. Dallas has made the playoffs three of the past four seasons, and advanced to the Stanley Cup Final two years ago.

"He's re-shaped our club to put us in a position to compete with the league's best each and every season," Stars owner Tom Gaglardi said. "Jim's diligence and commitment to the Stars has reverberated throughout our entire organization and we're excited for him to continue his work building a championship-caliber team."

The Stars have a 356-259-84 record with five playoff appearances overall in Nill's nine seasons.

"While we have made some big strides toward our ultimate goal, I am eager to continue my work in developing a winning culture that ultimately brings this team and this city a championship," Nill said.

DeBoer replaced Rick Bowness, who was the interim coach when the Stars made the Cup Final before a two-year contract that went through last season.

Nill initially went with veteran coaches Lindy Ruff (2013-17) and Ken Hitchcock (2017-18) before hiring Jim Montgomery from the University of Denver for his first NHL head coaching job. Bowness took over when Montgomery was fired because of off-ice issues early in the 2019-20 season.