It’s been rather perplexing to see Robert Thomas’s name out there in trade speculation given how young he is (26), how decent his season has been on a Blues team that’s been going through it all year (33 points in 42 games), and how he has five more years left on his contract with a $8.125 million cap hit.
Thomas is also currently on injured reserve after undergoing a minor surgical procedure, but if the Blues, for some reason, took calls on him, GM Doug Armstrong would be on the phone all day. St. Louis is in a real odd spot, given their best players are few, and their younger crop of guys (Dalibor Dvorsky, Jake Neighbours, Jimmy Snuggerud) are going through classic growing pains.
Moving someone like Thomas would seem baffling, but guys like Jordan Kyrou and Brayden Schenn might be more readily available to trade, but with hangups. Kyrou is having a rough season with a high cap hit, while Schenn’s cap hit doesn’t match his production anymore.
Makes sense why there’d be more attention on Thomas, right? The Blues would get a much bigger and better return if they dealt Thomas, but they might be setting themselves up for something resembling a soft rebuild if so.