Trade rumors are kicking up as the March 6th Trade Deadline draws near. Central to recent discussion is St. Louis Blues top center Robert Thomas, who appears set to enter the prime years of his career on a team that’s falling short. That rift has opened discussions around Thomas’ future in St. Louis. The Blues would be open to moving their star, only if they receive an offer they can’t refuse or a younger, top-six forward, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman on the January 23rd episode of 32 Thoughts: The Podcast. It’s no surprise that St. Louis would need a convincing offer – moving on from Thomas would quickly thrust the franchise into its next era.
The search for a true top-center is a race every team must run. St. Louis has historically done well at making sure that role is locked down at all times. Hall-of-Famer Pierre Turgeon passed the title to Doug Weight in the early 2000’s, only for Keith Tkachuk to take over before the 2010’s. By then, St. Louis had promoted David Backes into a daily lineup role. He would go on to captain the team until 2016, when he moved to the Boston Bruins. That decision left St. Louis with a vacancy – briefly filled by Brayden Schenn – that they didn’t fully fill until acquiring Ryan O’Reilly ahead of their Stanley Cup-winning 2018-19 season.
O’Reilly separated from the Blues in 2023. By then, Thomas had reached 23 years old and nearly 300 games of NHL experience. He was ready to take on a true starring role, made evident by the 65 points he scored in 73 games of the 2022-23 campaign – then, a stout follow-up to the 77 points he scored in 2021-22. Thomas began receiving 20 minutes of ice time routinely following O’Reilly’s departure. He stood up to St. Louis’ top role – once filled by current and future Hall-of-Famers – with glowing results.
Thomas scored 26 goals and 86 points while playing all 82 games of the 2023-24 season, his first year as St. Louis’ unimpeded #1. He became the first Blue to reach the 60-assist mark in the 2000’s, and the first since Craig Janney in 1994. Like Janney, Thomas went back-to-back with the accolade, recording 21 goals and 81 points in 70 games last season.
The consecutive performances were more than lightning striking twice. Thomas became the central core of St. Louis’ offense in the top role. His versatility was invaluable as the Blues figured out how to deploy north-south scorer Jordan Kyrou, and youngsters like Jake Neighbours, without getting burned. Thomas did it all, showing just as much flash in puck battles against the end-boards as he did in open space at the tops of the circles.
Thomas’ success became a forgone conclusion after another statement year last season. With a faceoff percentage consistently north of 50 percent, and plenty of intangibles, the Blues had molded another well-rounded star into their top center role. But the 2025-26 season has disappointed. St. Louis ranks dead-last in the NHL in goals scored (126) which has cut Thomas’ scoring down to 33 points in 42 games – still the most on the team by five points.
At 26, Thomas is stepping into the golden years of his career. He has already won one Stanley Cup in St. Louis but may not have too many more chances to chase another with the club’s current trajectory. The Blues are set to turn over their general manager position to rookie manager Alexander Steen this summer. Once a candidate for St. Louis’ top-center role himself, Steen will face the task of pushing the Blues forward after – presumably – their third playoff miss in the last four seasons. The prospect cupboards are stocked – with top prospects like Dalibor Dvorsky, Dylan Holloway, and Jimmy Snuggerud already making a splash in the NHL.
If that young success will be enough to convince St. Louis to separate with their true star is unclear. Thomas has found deep roots with the Blues and offers enough talent to lift a rocky ship, with the right pieces around him. He could lead St. Louis back to the postseason within a couple years just as well as he could fetch them a hefty return on the open market. How the Blues weigh those outcomes could go a long way in showing their long-term trust in smooth-face GM Steen and his ability to find another top center.
Photo courtesy of Robert Edwards-USA TODAY Sports.
Robert Thomas isn’t going anywhere, He’s the Blues best forward, And just 26 years old, St.Louis has no doubt had a rough season, But they still have a solid core group, The team simply needs to tinker with the bottom defense pairings, And bottom six forward group, Why they recently extended Toropchenko is beyond me, If they can move Buchnevich for a decent return, That would be something to look into.
Rutherford at the Athletic recently had Buchnevich as the least likely Blue to move saying, “I don’t think there’s a team out there that’s going to take the remaining five years of Buchnevich’s contract ($8 million average annual value).”
Jim Rutherford on line 1
I could see,kyrou,binnigton(teams are starving for goalies), schenn( also hungry for centers) and faulk bringing back decent returns. The draft is loaded next year. Hope they get some good picks for the mentioned guys. Syndquist( penalty kill) and Joseph could also be traded for marginal returns. Like the cards, they have pieces to trade, now let’s see if they actually follow through to get us over the hump in the future
If you’re gone, maybe it’s time to come home…
He’s exactly the type of player the Canes could use in their top 6. And they don’t have to worry about re-signing him anytime soon.
Nikishin and stars 26’1st for Thomas
Blues would ask for way more still, especially that the Stars first would be around pick 30
and especially since their astronomical price includes a top 6 forward slightly younger than Thomas Svechnikov would most definitely have to go the other way in a deal, if Svechnikov is younger they may be the same age
@NSco1996 – Svechnikov is 25, so, close enough. Blues would be taking a step backward if they basically, give away Thomas. Unless, of course, he’s asked out, which would be unusual.
@Gabriel – “ahd” is how you spell “had” when you have a head cold. Hell, it’s how you spell it when it’s cold everywhere!
Thanks for the correction, @Gabriel! Lucky you, it must’ve warmed up where you live! 😀
The asking price will be too high and virtually scare off the chances for a fair trade. Hopefully STL won’t be victimized again. Armstrong appeared to be psychologically distressed when he traded Zack Bulduc
Even if it would sad me very much to see him go ,Blake , KK ,first rounder and a prospect would do it i think
Thomas and Faulk (retain $1M) for Robo and Lybushkin.
Probably a better trade at the draft.
Canes are sniffing around Dougie. Looks like St. Louis about to get Nikishin
Seriously? He’s only 26. St Louis has five more years of team control on him. Even were St Louis to do a full scale teardown — which it doesn’t seem they’re going to do — Thomas is still going to be a star on the back end of it, and at an increasingly team-friendly rate as the years go on. Any picks they get for him MIGHT turn out to be quality players … and may well be busts, as so many picks are.
Yzerman has to make this happen. He’s desperately needed another top two center for years. Every team in the league is looking for them. Only 26. He’s got the cache to pull it off.
Copp’s recent years long awakening shouldn’t stop Yzerman from finally letting go of the shore for once in his life.
Guys like Kasper and Danielson should absolutely be in play. I recently read where Friedman said Danielson is untouchable. That’s insane.
Yzerman and Doug Armstrong have always had a good relationship I’ve noticed. Something to keep an eye on.
Saw where Detroit may be offering Danielson, Augustine and a second. Idea is they potentially replace the center spot in the future and gain a potential franchise goalie. They might counter asking for more but that seems like it might be close enough.
@TAV.
That’s a done deal in my opinion. You gotta let go of the shore at some point. Between Augustine and Cossa we are fine in goal long term. So, if one of them goes, we still have the other.
You need two offensive centers at a minimum in this league. I was glad when Larkin popped off last year at the trade deadline for not doing enough. Yzerman was pissed for his comments, but screw him. He acts like a dictator. Apparently you’re not allowed to criticize him. Larkin was right. I’m not a Larkin slappy, but he’s been all we’ve had for years. Teams put their best defensive players out against him and Raymond. He needs some help.
Thomas is also a right hand shot which is nice.
The hang up is most likely that teams want Edvinsson in any deal for Thomas or Pettersson. I would still pull that trigger. It’s impossible to find point a game type of centers. Get them while you have a chance.
I would also call Seattle about Jared McCann.
He would be another upgrade over Copp and Compher.