The St. Louis Blues are without their number one center in Robert Thomas, as he's slated to miss a second game due to injury. While Thomas has had a slow start to the 2025-26 season, he's still an impactful NHL player--and surely the Blues would prefer to have him in the lineup than watching from the press box.
The good news, then, is that Pius Suter has been able to step up and fulfill Thomas's duties while he recovers.
Suter signed a two-year contract with the Blues over the summer, worth $4.125-million annually, after the Vancouver Canucks let him walk in free agency. For the Canucks, he was a solid middle-six player--though after JT Miller was traded to the New York Rangers, Suter became the de facto second-line center. Late in the season, Elias Pettersson missed significant time due to injury, and Suter had to become the Canucks' first-line center in the interim.
It's an eerily similar situation in St. Louis with Thomas out, though hopefully for not nearly as long as Pettersson last year (he finished the season appearing in just 64 games). Suter established himself well in that elevated role, posting a career best 25 goals and 46 points.
We must be clear, though: Pius Suter is not a true top-line center on a contending team. He's best utilized in a middle-six role, and only used as a temporary stopgap in a clear-cut first-line role. If the Blues hope to make it back to the playoffs this year (and right now, it looks a bit iffy), they'll need Thomas back in the lineup and playing up to expectations.
In the meantime, though, Suter's proven to be a valuable depth add by GM Doug Armstrong. For as long as Thomas needs to recover, the Blues can count on Suter to admirably step up and play on the top line--for a little while, at least.