Blues: 3 Potential Trade Destinations for Robert Thomas

Things haven’t gone as smoothly as Doug Armstrong would’ve liked for the St. Louis Blues. The team went on a stellar run last season to make the playoffs after hiring Jim Montgomery to be their new head coach, but things have turned a corner for the worse this season. It could leave Armstrong and the Blues as sellers at this year’s trade deadline.

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The Blues are 19-22-8 on the season, sitting sixth in the Central Division and just five points out of the playoffs. However, there are six teams ahead of them in the wild card race, which doesn’t leave much hope that they can turn it around in time.

If the Blues become sellers, Darren Dreger dropped a shocking tidbit on the Barn Burner podcast. Dreger believes that St. Louis has some interest in seeing what the market is like for 26-year-old center Robert Thomas.

If the Blues decide to move on from the former 80-point producer, there will be plenty of organizations interested in bringing him into the fold. Here are three that shouldn’t hesitate to acquire Thomas’ services.

Boston Bruins

Every team around the league knows that the Boston Bruins are open for business, and it isn’t in the way most thought at the beginning of the season. While another trip to the draft lottery was expected for the Bruins this season, they continue to challenge for a wild-card spot. It even led them to nearly acquire Rasmus Andersson as a piece for the playoff push and beyond.

The Bruins tipped their hands by dangling players like Mason Lohrei and Matthew Poitras in the Andersson negotiations. Both players were former Montgomery favorites when he was the coach in Boston, but the question is whether the Blues’ head coach will be around in St. Louis long enough for it to matter.

It’d take Lohrei, Poitras, and more pieces to acquire Robert Thomas. For a team starving for more offensive talent to put alongside David Pastrnak, gutting the cupboards to acquire the Blues’ center could be worth it with the good work they did to add young talent at last year’s trade deadline and draft.

Washington Capitals

The Washington Capitals have hit a bit of a lull recently, winning just four of their past 10 games. With the strength of the Atlantic Division, Washington is three points back of a wild card spot but just one point behind the Pittsburgh Penguins for third in the Metropolitan Division.

The Capitals are in win-now mode, but also have the pieces already forming to contend after Alexander Ovechkin retires and leaves the team. Their future outlook will look even better with a center like Thomas added to the depth chart.

Not only will Thomas help the future, but he will be the best piece Washington can acquire to give Ovechkin a chance at another Stanley Cup before he retires. The Capitals can roll with a three-headed center monster of Thomas, Dylan Strome, and Pierre-Luc Dubois, or move Dubois to the wing and form a scary top-six.

Buffalo Sabres

The Penguins could’ve easily been the third team, but Kyle Dubas is a bit more of a patient general manager with in-season moves. Jarmo Kekalainen is looking for a big splash since taking over the team, and Robert Thomas would help the Sabres for a long time in a challenging Atlantic Division.

The Atlantic Division has the top six teams in the entire NHL since December 23, including Buffalo, but the Sabres risk falling behind in the season’s final few months if they don’t make a move to keep pace with the other teams in the division.

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