The St. Louis Blues finished fifth in a top-heavy Central Division, and smack in the middle of the pack of a weak Western Conference, with a 37-33-12 record. After nearly advancing to the second round last season, it was a tremendous step back and a disappointment all around. Some of that blame can be levelled at the players, and the front office shares in that blame too--but it's ultimately the players who have to deliver, and their stars failed to live up to expectation.
On the bright side, Robert Thomas did find his game later in the season--it was just too late to dig the Blues out of the hole they dug for themselves early on.
Expectations for the 2025-26 season
Thomas is the Blues' top-line center and part of their leadership core. In three of the last four seasons, he's played at or above a point-per-game pace--that sort of scoring is the expectation for Thomas every season and, ultimately, he delivered: 64 points in 64 games played.
The road to get there was less than ideal, though.
Thomas's season can be broken up into two parts: pre-injury and post-injury. He missed a significant chunk of time from mid-January through the first of March (so all of the Olympic break), and was a different player upon returning. Before the injury, Thomas tallied 11 goals and 33 points in 42 games--way off his usual pace.
When he returned to the lineup, he scored 14 goals and 31 points in 22 games, which is the production you need and expect from your top forward; it was just too late to make a difference in the playoff race, but absolutely crushed their potential for a high draft pick. Thomas gets a solid grade for his performance down the stretch, but it can't be higher because of how slow he started.
Where does he go from here?
The Blues came quite close to trading Thomas at the deadline back in March, and they may still consider moving him this summer. A lot will come down to what Doug Armstrong decides to do at the draft in June, and what direction GM-to-be Alexander Steen decides to take: rebuild or retool.
Thomas turns 27 this summer and is firmly in his prime; if the Blues can use their influx of draft capital to make some trades and refresh the lineup, they could be back in playoff contention next season. If, however, there are no trades to be had, this team's ceiling is quite limited, and moving Thomas for a haul could better establish the Blues for the future. It all rides on management's decisions during the offseason.
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