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ST. LOUIS — The St. Louis Blues and Connor McMichael were destined to be matched up despite the clock ticking on an arbitration hearing.

The chances of the restricted free agent forward and the team reaching June 25 were slim to none, but nevertheless, the clock was still ticking.

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Until Thursday when the two sides reached agreement on a six-year, $40.5 million contract that will pay the 25-year-old an average annual value of $6.75 million. It carries a three-team modified no-trade clause the final four years, including expiring Feb. 1 on the expiring year, according to puckpedia.com. 

So it wasn’t a question of if McMichael would get his contract but when.

“Just based off those first few phone calls, it seems like they’re excited to have me and happy that they were able to acquire me,” McMichael said of the Blues. “For me, that’s all that matters is that this organization wants me and appreciates me. That’s going to be a big thing.

“… It’s a team that’s looking to build and get better and better each year. There’s quite a few guys the same age as me, so that’s real exciting.”

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McMichael, acquired from the Washington Capitals along with a 2026 first-round pick and a 2025 second-round prospect (Milton Gastrin) for Jordan Kyrou, recorded 46 points (14 goals, 32 assists) for the Capitals last season after putting up a career-best 26 goals and 57 points in 2024-25 over 82 games.

He joins a group as part of a young core of forwards that includes Robert Thomas, Jimmy Snuggerud, Dylan Holloway Jake Neighbours, Dalibor Dvorsky, Jonatan Berggren and newly acquired Mason McTavish.

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