Why Blues Fans Booed Jordan Kyrou

You would think that when your team wins a game, the fans wouldn’t have too much to complain about. The fans should be so swept up in the excitement of seeing their favorite team win, that nothing else should matter. Whatever is happening in their personal life or things surrounding the teams. All of that shouldn’t matter when watching your team win.

However, this wasn’t the case for Blues fans on Thursday night because even though the Blues beat the Senators pretty easily, the Blues faithful rained boos down on the ice all game. Why you might ask. Well, they were booing Blues right-winger Jordan Kyrou. Every time he touched the puck Blues fans were relentless and made sure he knew exactly how they felt about him. But the question remains, what caused this response, and how does it affect Kyrou’s future in St.Louis?

What Caused This to Happen?

To understand why Kyrou was booed we have to go back a couple of days, when the Blues fired head coach Craig Berube. Now this shouldn’t come as a shock considering how the Blues have struggled this season. At the time of Berube’s firing, they were 13-14-1 and in the middle of a four-game losing streak. Something needed to change if the Blues still wanted to be competitive this season. However, despite his firing, Berube was still loved by the fanbase. This is because Berube was behind the bench for the 2019 Stanley Cup run. Fans will always be thankful for what Berube did during that run and will always be on his side.

How does this connect to Kyrou, well when asked about Berube this is what he had to say.

Kyrou on relationship with Berube: "I've got no comment. He's not my coach anymore." #stlblues

— Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford) December 14, 2023

This quote did not sit well with the majority of Blues fans. They saw this comment as immature and childish. Combine this with the fact that Kyrou has struggled this season, after signing an eight-year extension with an average annual value of little more than eight million, and you begin to understand why fans are frustrated and choose to side with the Berube over him. Berube brought their team to the pinnacle of hockey. Kyrou just seems like an overpaid diva.

Now after the game, Kyrou was visibly upset about what had transpired on the ice. He was in tears at his locker and looked to be in shock while reporters asked him questions. During his postgame interview, he said he loves playing in St.Louis and it was very hard to hear the crowd boo him the way they did. He also apologized for his comments, saying he was sorry if it sounded bad he was just trying to focus on the future. He then went on to praise Berube for what he was able to accomplish for the club.

Does Jordan Kyrou Have a Future in St.Louis?

Now even though Kyrou apologized and clarified what he meant, is it enough to get the fans back on his side? Don’t forget they weren’t just booing him due to his comments about Berube. That was more of the straw that broke the camel’s back. The frustration comes more from how he got a big contract and has failed to live up to it. The easiest way to get back into the fans’ good graces is to let your performance on the ice do the talking. Easier said than done yes, but it’s unfortunately true.

However, his future in St.Louis might not be up to him. It will be up to General Manager Doug Armstrong. Armstrong has been suggesting for the past few months now that the Blues might need to go through a rebuild to be competitive again. At the very least they going to need to retool. Due to this, Armstrong is going to be looking for assets to move. Despite his struggles this season, Kyrou can still be an interesting piece for some teams. He’s locked up for another seven seasons, and he’s only 25 years old. Plus with the salary cap projected to make a major jump, an eight million average annual value, isn’t terrible.

However, it’s too early to tell what is going to happen. What we’re going to have to do now is sit and watch this whole thing unfold. See how the Blues continue to play, and see if Kyrou can turn it around. It’s going to be an interesting story to watch unfold.

Thanks for reading! Credit for my feature image goes to Ronald Martinez. You can find more NHL content at Belly Up Sports and follow me on X.