Subscribe
Follow Us
Robert Thomas has emerged into one of the best players on the St. Louis Blues since helping the franchise win its first Stanley Cup in 2019 — but the team will have to make due without the star forward for the foreseeable future.
Thomas was placed on injured reserve with a fractured ankle on Wednesday, general manager and president of hockey operations Doug Armstrong announced; he's scheduled to be re-evaluated in six weeks.
The 25-year-old left Tuesday's 3-2 loss to the Winnipeg Jets with just under 12 minutes remaining in the third period. He blocked a hard shot by Jets D-man Neal Pionk earlier in the frame, and was unavailable for the rest of the stanza. He had assisted on both of St. Louis' tallies before being forced to the dressing room.
It's a brutal blow for both player and club; Thomas led the Blues in scoring in 2023-24, amassing 26 goals and 86 points in 80 games. It was the best season of the Aurora, Ontario native's career, and his 86 points were far-and-away the highest total on the team.
The 2024 NHL All-Star was off to another rock-solid start in 2024-25, chipping in a goal and six points over seven contests. That had Thomas tied for second on the team in points.
Robert Thomas has become a heart and soul player for Blues
Originally selected in the first-round of the 2017 NHL Draft by the Blues, 20th overall, Thomas has amassed 87 goals and 321 points over 403 career regular-season games.
He helped the Blues win their inaugural championship in his rookie season; he scored 33 points in 70 regular-season games in 2018-19, adding another six points in 21 Stanley Cup Playoff contests.
Thomas has seemed to get better and better every year, first eclipsing a point-per-game pace back in 2021-22, when he scored 77 in 72. His 86 points in 2023-24 led second place Jordan Kyrou by a full 19 points, and he had solidified himself as one of the team's top offensive options.
In Thomas' absence, St. Louis' lines are in a blender, with Daily Faceoff projecting Brayden Schenn centering Brandon Saad and Nathan Walker, with Pavel Buchnevich between Jordan Kyrou and Alexandre Texier.
The Blues are off to a decent start despite Tuesday's loss, playing to a 4-3 record over seven games. After missing the postseason in back-to-back seasons, St. Louis is looking to return to the dance next April.
And Thomas was set to again be a catalyst in that mission. Without the star forward, the Blues will rely on their depth to pick up the slack. And Buchnevich, Kyrou and Schenn will be counted on even more to keep this team afloat without arguably their best player.
The hope in Missouri is that Thomas' ankle heals well and he can return to the lineup within two months. That would mean he would be back on the ice before the calendar flips to 2025 if all goes well.
The Blues will begin to adjust to life without Thomas when they embark on a four-game road trip that has stops in Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa and Philadelphia over the next week. It'll begin against the Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday night.
