Robert Thomas could be solution to Canadiens’ second-line center hole
As the trade deadline inches closer, Robert Thomas remains one of the biggest names on the market. The St. Louis Blues center is one of the best playmakers in the league, and teams will be lining up for his services, but the Blues won’t sell him for cheap.
One team who may be willing to pony up for the price tag is the Montreal Canadiens. They’ve got a strong prospect pool, which means they have prospects to give and don’t need draft picks as much to build theirs up. They also have a glaring hole at the center position behind Nick Suzuki, one Thomas would fill very well.
Jeff Marek joined Daily Faceoff Live to talk about Thomas joining the Canadiens and what it would cost to acquire him.
Jeff Marek: You look at the Montreal Canadiens, they’re done with first rounders. Their draft work is all done because their first-round draft pick now are going to be lower half. So all the work has been done.
You got to start thinking, “Okay, so what type of package could the Montreal Canadiens put together to get Robert Thomas”? Can you imagine for one second going up the gut into the playoffs with Nick Suzuki and Robert Thomas? Holy smokes, we’re talking Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci here. That’s what we’re looking at here.
You think to yourself, so what does the St. Louis Blues need? If you’re Doug Armstrong, soon to be Alex Steen, you want young, right-shot D. That’s what you need. That’s why they made the trade in the offseason to bring in Logan Mailloux. They want young, right-shot D. So you’d look at someone like David Reinbacher. You’d look at the Bryce Pickford kid who’s shooting the lights out in Medicine Hat right now. Guy has 71 points as a right-shot D. So it’s a combination. Michael Hage, I would imagine, would have to be in that one. First-round draft pick from a couple of years ago. So that’s what we’re looking at here if it’s the Montreal Canadians.
Even having said that, they’re still probably going to need to do something with their goaltending. They need some help there. We’ve heard Bobrovsky’s name, et cetera. But that’s who I’d be looking at for Robert Thomas out of the gate.
Carter Hutton: Yeah, and then you look at that team, if they were to get Robert Thomas, [his contract] is through 2029-30. They have six or seven stars wrapped up from $6-9 million.
You can watch the full episode here…