Robert Thomas is set to be one of the faces of the St. Louis Blues forward core. Despite rumors of him being traded, it appears the Blues have penciled him in as the top-line center for years to come. Over the 64 games this past season, he logged 25 goals and 39 assists for 64 points. He was solid all season, but his most impressive stretch came during the last 22 games of the season, where he racked up 31 points. While Thomas is impressive, if he wants to help the Blues take the next step, he needs to shoot more.Â
How Robert Thomas shooting more will help the Blues
Thomas has always been a high-point producer; he has always been a pass-first player. Over 70% of his career point totals have come on assists. In four of the last five seasons, he has recorded over 45 assists. He even notched 60 assists in a season a couple of times during this stretch as well. His ability to find his teammates and set guys up for scoring chances is what made him a key piece of the Blues forward core.  Â
But if he wants to be viewed around the league as a top-line-caliber center, he needs to score more goals. Sure, he logged 25-plus goals in two of the last three seasons. However, last season he was less aggressive with shot attempts. He only had 1.43 shots on goal per game and 2.88 shot attempts per game. Both are big steps back from the 2024-25 season and ranked among the worst in the league. This signals that the stats he put up last season will be hard to repeat.  Â
This is not what you want to see from one of the main drivers on offense. Sure, the Blues played well with Thomas being the set-up guy. But if the Blues want to take a step forward in 2026-27, they will need all three members of their top line to be scoring threats. Having this type of versatility will make the line one of the best in hockey. It will make it much harder to defend against and create more openings.      Â
Thomas can easily become a more productive goal scorer because he puts himself in the right situation. According to NHL Edge, he had 43 high-danger shots and 33 mid-range shots. Both of which were above league average and ranked in the 67th and 66th percentiles. It’s clear that Thomas is able to get in the right position to put the puck in the back of the net. If he starts shooting more and gets a little more aggressive, he can turn these shots into goals.      Â
While Thomas has been an effective center, shooting the puck more will allow the Blues to find more success. If the Blues want to exceed expectations next season, Thomas needs to put up a higher goal total. Â
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