In addition to the upside that Kyrou has hinted at, we typically have struggled to replace scoring once we've dealt it away. We could easily find we've robbed Peter to pay Paul.
I think any willingness to trade Kyrou has to be rooted in a firm belief that Snuggy's shot is good enough to take over the 'left circle one-time threat' on the top PP unit the instant he grabs a full time NHL job.
Let's assume that Kyrou plays out his contract in St. Louis, Snuggy signs with the Blues at the conclusion of the NCAA season this year. I'm pretty damn comfortable that Snuggy establishes himself as a top 9 player by the end of the 2025/26 season in that scenario and I think that is a fairly reasonable assumption.
Given that assumption, how long does Kyrou hold onto the spot in the left faceoff circle on our top PP unit? Because I think that Snuggy's one-timer is currently better than Kyrou. Neighbours is better suited to the net front presence than Kyrou is. Thomas' playmaking and faceoff ability are far too valuable to keep off the top PP unit. Buch is now locked up long term and is solid from the right circle (and I like a lefty there more than a righty). That's 4 forwards. Is the long term plan to run a 5 forward PP unit to keep Kyrou on it?
In a future where Thomas, Kyrou, Neighbours, Buch, and Snuggy all spend the next 5 years in our organization, I am pretty confident that you run into a "problem" regarding who becomes the odd man out on PP1. That is
great problem to have. By itself, it absolutely isn't a reason to trade someone. However, I think that it does address a good chunk of the 'how do we replace Kyrou's scoring' question when you think about moving him.
Snuggy absolutely isn't ready to replace Kyrou's role/scoring 1 for 1. Odds are good that he will
never be able to replace Kyrou's role/scoring at 5 on 5 long-term. This post is not to say that we can comfortably bank on Snuggy to simply replace Kyrou's production (short or long term). Snuggy will never skate like Kyrou and I feel pretty confident that he will never match Kyrou's (non-shooting) skill with the puck.
But I do think that Snuggy's shot is currently good enough to contribute to a top NHL PP unit and it is pretty reasonable to pencil him in as an adequate replacement for Kyrou on the PP in a world where we move Kyrou for D.