Blues Will Enter New Era If Robert Thomas Leaves
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.
Johannesson Expected To Sign With SHL Frolunda Next Season
- Blues prospect Samuel Johannesson is expected to sign with SHL Frolunda next season, according to a report from Expressen’s Mattias Persson and Johan Svensson. The 25-year-old blueliner is in his second season in North America and has played exclusively with AHL Springfield so far. After putting up 32 points in 66 games in his rookie campaign last season, Johannesson’s numbers are down this season with two goals and nine assists through 26 contests. Persson and Svensson add that several NLA teams had also shown interest in Johannesson but instead, he opted to return home. An official signing announcement won’t come until after the season.
Blues’ Dylan Holloway Had MRI, Remains Day-To-Day
When Dylan Holloway returned to the Blues’ lineup last weekend after missing 15 games with an ankle fracture, his comeback was short-lived. He made just one appearance, logging a -2 rating in 12:45 of ice time against the Oilers, before coming back out of the lineup.
He hasn’t been placed on IR again, and for now, it doesn’t appear he will. Head coach Jim Montgomery told reporters yesterday (including NHL.com’s Lou Korac) that Holloway had an MRI this week to see if any structural damage remained following the fracture, but that the results were negative.
Instead, his absence from the lineup is more about pain management and getting used to the scar tissue that formed as a result of the fracture, Montgomery said. “It’s a tough injury. It’s just him now getting used to the fact that there’s going to be some scar tissue that he’s going to have to deal with. I guess it’s a little more painful when you come back a little earlier than if you let it heal another week.”
Whether the Blues will be willing to hold Holloway out – or if he’s even willing to sit out long enough to get back to 100% – remains to be seen. It’s clear he wanted playing time as soon as possible and pushed the envelope on his initial return. On a damaged ankle, though, it’s going to be tough for him to turn around what’s been a disappointing second season in St. Louis.
The offer-sheet acquisition from Edmonton in 2024 was one of the league’s best breakout stories last season, emerging as the true top-six threat he was expected to become when the Oilers took him No. 14 overall in 2020. He finished third on the Blues in scoring behind Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou with 26 goals and 63 points in 77 games before a late-season lower-body injury kept him out of the playoffs.
This season, though, he’s clicked at a 41-point pace despite averaging nearly a minute more of ice time per game. His shooting percentage has dropped back down to a more sustainable 10.1% after finishing at a 14.6% last year, giving him eight goals and 17 points in 34 appearances on the year.
His possession impacts have remained far more beneficial than his -13 rating would otherwise indicate, too. There’s plenty of motivation to chalk up his disappointing scoring line to the Blues’ league-worst offense and subpar finishing from everywhere in the lineup, but the pending restricted free agent’s outlook for his next contract has certainly dipped from when his stock was at an all-time high last summer.
Latest On Justin Faulk
- The St. Louis Blues are likely to be among the selling teams in this year’s trade market as they currently sit second-to-last in the Western Conference with 47 points. One of the players they are considering trading is veteran defenseman Justin Faulk, a 33-year-old with one more year under contract at $6.5MM AAV. Friedman reported yesterday that the Blues are looking for a trade package comparable to what the Calgary Flames received in exchange for Rasmus Andersson in any Faulk deal. (The Flames received a first-rounder and a conditional second-round pick for Andersson alongside veteran Zach Whitecloud.) Faulk has been St. Louis’ No. 3 defenseman in terms of ice time this season, and has 24 points in 52 games.
Blues Set Exorbitant Asking Price On Robert Thomas
- According to an article from Anthony Di Marco of Daily Faceoff, the St. Louis Blues have understandably set an extremely high asking price for forward Robert Thomas. Even as perceived sellers leading up to the trade deadline, the Blues aren’t actively looking to move Thomas, though they will do their due diligence if a suitor gives them an offer they can’t refuse. Still, Di Marco spoke with an anonymous team source of a club that contacted St. Louis regarding Thomas, and that negotiations were killed relatively quickly due to the asking price.
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Blues Activate Mathieu Joseph, Place Oskar Sundqvist On IR
The Blues activated winger Mathieu Joseph from injured reserve on Friday, according to Matthew DeFranks of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He’s been replaced on injured reserve by Oskar Sundqvist to keep the Blues’ active roster at the 23-player maximum.
Joseph will be in the lineup for tonight’s game against the Stars in a third-line role with rookies Dalibor Dvorsky and Otto Stenberg, per Elise Butler of the team’s website. He comes in for Nathan Walker, who had two points in his first two games since returning from an upper-body injury earlier this month, but has now gone without a point in five straight.
The 28-year-old Joseph’s stay on IR was relatively brief. He hasn’t played since Jan. 3 but was a healthy scratch for several games after that before developing an elbow infection, diagnosed as day-to-day on Jan. 12. He was moved to IR the following day to create a roster spot for Nick Bjugstad.
Joseph operated as an occasional healthy scratch for much of last season. His deployment hasn’t changed much in 2025-26, the last season of a four-year, $11.8MM deal signed with the Senators in 2022 that St. Louis picked up as a cap dump in 2024. He’s shot under 10% for every season of that contract and has just two goals in 35 games this year, although his 10 points bring him to a respectable 24-point pace over 82 games – more offense than he gave the Blues last year while also seeing his ice time increase by nearly a minute per game.
He’s an effective forechecker and penalty killer, but at this stage of his career, what was long thought to be untapped offensive potential looks to stay unrealized if he continues as one of the league’s most underwhelming finishers. He’s nonetheless an experienced body (455 career games) for a Blues group currently without a third of its top nine in Dylan Holloway, Pius Suter, and Robert Thomas.
That’s not counting Sundqvist’s injury. The 31-year-old is out indefinitely after sustaining an ankle laceration due to a skate cut against the Oilers last weekend, according to the team. He already missed Tuesday’s loss to the Jets and is ruled out for St. Louis’ next two games as a result of the IR placement, although he might not end up returning until the other side of the Olympic break, depending on the severity of the laceration and how much, if any, tendon or muscular damage it caused.
Sundqvist is in the third year of his second stint with the Blues and has been chugging along as a reliable two-way piece in their bottom six. They’ve relied on him more than anticipated due to their rash of injuries, and he’s held up his end of the bargain offensively with 13 points in 39 games – right at his career average pace of 0.33 points per game. He’s the Blues’ most relied-upon forward in the defensive zone at even strength and averages 1:22 of ice time per game on the penalty kill. Joseph’s return should help the Blues shoulder Sundqvist’s shorthanded absence, though.
Ott Named Head Coach With AHL Springfield
- The Blues have made a coaching change with their AHL affiliate in Springfield. The team announced that Steve Ott will take over as head coach with the Thunderbirds, replacing Steve Konowalchuk, who has been let go. This will be Ott’s first time as head coach after serving as an assistant or associate coach in St. Louis since 2017. He has been a speculative head coaching target over the past couple of offseasons and some experience running a bench might help give him a boost for future vacancies. Konowalchuk, meanwhile, departs with a 47-50-12 record over parts of two seasons with the Thunderbirds.
Phil Goyette Passes Away
Long-time NHL forward Phil Goyette has passed away at the age of 92, per an announcement from the Canadiens, one of his former teams.
Goyette made his NHL debut for Montreal in 1957, playing 14 regular-season games before becoming a regular in the playoffs to help lead the Canadiens to the Stanley Cup. That turned out to be his first of four straight Cup victories through the 1959-60 season. Goyette spent three more years with Montreal after that before joining the Rangers for the 1963-64 campaign.
Goyette spent another seven seasons in New York, putting up three seasons of more than 60 points, his best production by far to that point in his career.
He found another level offensively upon joining St. Louis in 1969. In his first season with the Blues, Goyette finished fourth in league scoring, picking up 78 points in 72 games, his first of two straight seasons of recording more than a point per game. He also won the Lady Byng Trophy that season as the league’s Most Gentlemanly Player. However, that was his only season in St. Louis as Buffalo selected him in the 1970 Expansion Draft.
Goyette went on to play parts of two seasons with the Sabres before wrapping up his playing career back with the Rangers. Overall, he played in 940 career regular season games, recording 674 points while chipping in with 46 points in 94 playoff contests with those four Stanley Cup titles.
Upon retiring as a player, Goyette decided to give coaching a chance as he was named the inaugural head coach for the Islanders in 1972, spending a partial season with them.
St. Louis Blues To Activate Dylan Holloway
1/18/26: The Blues made it official today, announcing that Holloway will return to the lineup for the team’s game against the Edmonton Oilers.
St. Louis has an open spot on their 23-man active roster, meaning they won’t need to make a corresponding transaction in order to activate Holloway off injured reserve. Once Holloway is activated, the Blues will be down to three forwards on IR: Suter, top pivot Robert Thomas, and winger Mathieu Joseph.
1/17/26: Things are finally swinging towards the positive for the injury-plagued St. Louis Blues. Winger Dylan Holloway was a full participant at practice and will join the team on their upcoming three-game road trip per Lou Korac of The Hockey News. The top-six winger has missed the last 15 games with a high ankle sprain in his right leg.
Centerman Pius Suter won’t be ready for the road trip and will miss the trip. Suter has missed the last nine games with a high ankle sprain of his own. If Suter follows Holloway’s timeline, he could be a candidate to return during St. Louis’ four-game homestand next week.
Returning Holloway will be a major addition for the struggling Blues offense. St. Louis has averaged just 2.33 goals-per-game since Holloway was injured, the second-lowest mark in the NHL behind the New Jersey Devils. The Blues have slipped while continuing to allow a league-average 3.0 goals-against, putting them in a losing stance on a nightly basis.
The explosive Holloway could be the man to end the quiet spell. Even after an extended absence, he still ranks seventh on the team in scoring with eight goals and 17 points in 33 games. That includes four points scored in seven games through the first two weeks of December, the fourth-most of any Blue.
Holloway has been a revelation for the Blues lineup since joining the team in the summer of 2024. He had a career-year last season, scoring 26 goals and 63 points in 77 games in what was his first full season on an NHL roster. Like many Blues, Holloway’s numbers have dipped in the 2025-26 season – but his spot on the team’s top-six has held firm. Holloway is expected to return to the lineup as the spark plug next to Dalibor Dvorsky and Jake Neighbours.
Suter has held down a third-line role in his first season in St. Louis. He scored 14 points, split evenly, in 37 games before going down with injury. The 29-year-old center hasn’t found the same spark that led him to 25 goals and 46 points with the Vancouver Canucks last season. He has provided depth support among a veteran bottom-six and should continue in that role when he’s back from injury.
Blues Place Robert Thomas On Injured Reserve
The St. Louis Blues are losing their highest-scoring player for the next few weeks. The Blues announced that they’ve placed forward Robert Thomas on the injured reserve with a lower-body injury and that he would be re-evaluated in two weeks.
Despite again being the rumor of some trade speculation, Thomas has been his steady self for St. Louis this season. Although he’s tied for seventh in games played, Thomas leads the team in scoring with 11 goals and 33 points across 42 games on the year.
Thomas, 26, has already missed one game for the Blues due to the lower-body ailment and will likely miss a minimum of eight, given the projected recovery timeline. Given that St. Louis is five points back of the final wild-card spot and seven points back of being in last place in the Western Conference, they will be without their top forward for a pivotal stretch of games.
There’s no telling how much more their offense will depreciate without Thomas in the lineup. The Blues are already last in the league with a 2.49 GF/G average, and 23rd with a man advantage, having a 17.07% success rate on the power play.
Thomas’ injury is expected to negatively impact St. Louis’ performance on the ice, and it could also affect other players on the team. If the Blues fall further out of playoff contention, the trade markets for Brayden Schenn, Jordan Kyrou, and Justin Faulk could heat up more than they already are.