{"id":496823,"date":"2026-03-10T17:21:31","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T17:21:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/496823\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T17:21:31","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T17:21:31","slug":"robert-thomas-says-st-louis-blues-never-asked-him-to-waive-no-trade-knows-rumours-part-of-the-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/496823\/","title":{"rendered":"Robert Thomas says St. Louis Blues never asked him to waive no-trade; knows rumours \u2018part of the business\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

St. Louis Blues<\/a> forward Robert Thomas<\/a> was the subject of trade rumours leading up to last week\u2019s deadline, but told reporters Tuesday the team didn\u2019t ask him to waive his no-move clause to facilitate a deal and he never asked for a trade.<\/p>\n

Still, Thomas said it was difficult hearing his name become the subject of rumours.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, obviously a really tough week on the family. You never know what\u2019s going to happen, so it was tough,\u201d he said via The Athletic\u2019s Jeremy Rutherford.<\/p>\n

Thomas: “Yeah, obviously a really tough week on the family. You never know what’s going to happen, so it was tough.”<\/p>\n

\u2014 Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford) March 10, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

But Thomas also understands it\u2019s par for the course at that time of year, especially considering where the Blues are in the standings.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know what, it\u2019s part of the business. We understand the situation we\u2019re in. I think it\u2019s been publicly known [GM Doug Armstrong] had a meeting with us beforehand and let us know what was going to happen, so we had a good understanding of what was going to go on,\u201d Thomas said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s part of it and you move forward. You do your best to finish the end of the season strong and then you go from there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sitting well outside the playoff picture, the Blues were major sellers at the trade deadline, shipping out captain Brayden Schenn<\/a> and defenceman Justin Faulk<\/a> in separate trades. They also had a deal in place with the Buffalo Sabres<\/a> involving defenceman Colton Parayko<\/a>, but the veteran blueliner declined to waive his no-move clause and remained with St. Louis.<\/p>\n

TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun reported in last week\u2019s edition of Insider Trading<\/a> that it made sense for the Blues to have any deal involving Thomas in place a day ahead of last Friday\u2019s deadline in order to give the star centre time to decide whether he wanted to accept a deal to a new team.<\/p>\n

Thomas said he anticipates more discussions in the off-season about his future, as well as the team\u2019s. The Blues enter play Tuesday seventh in the Central Division at 25-29-9 with 59 points in 63 games, on pace to miss the playoffs for the third time in four seasons. <\/p>\n

\u201cObviously there\u2019s lots of conversations that have to go on at the end of the season. I think we can talk more in the off-season about that. Ever since I signed my contract, I\u2019ve made it known that I want to win again here, I want to be a leader here. That message has never been changed from me to them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The 26-year-old is in the third year of an eight-year, $65 million contract that carries an $8.13 million cap hit. He carries a no-trade until the final year of his deal, at which point it transitions to a modified no-move clause with a 15-team no-trade list.<\/p>\n

Despite the down season for the Blues it\u2019s been another strong year for Thomas, with 15 goals and 40 points in 46 games, continuing his near point-per-game pace from throughout his career.<\/p>\n