After the St. Louis Blues were unable to make it a two-game winning streak on Saturday night, losing to the New Jersey Devils 3-1, they have a quick turnaround in Minnesota. The Wild are amongst the favorites to win the Stanley Cup this season, and are currently the third-place team in the Central Division.
Late in the evening, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet spoke his mind on the Robert Thomas situation in St. Louis, inciting the "decent" chance that he will be moved prior to the Trade Deadline on March 6. He listed Utah as a new candidate, signaling that he will likely not be in the lineup going forward.
But that all changed this morning, with even more confusion ensuing with the Blues' evening matchup against the Wild. Thomas is back in the lineup.
What happens now?
Obviously, Blues General Manager Doug Armstrong is fielding a lot of calls and hearing a ton of offers for this core group. As the season continues to slip away, the direction will become clear very soon on whether or not the Blues are going to sell now, or sell in the offseason.
Thomas' departure from the Blues seemed like a done deal. It seemed like he played his final game with the Blues before the Olympic Break, and that he will be moved to a team that is buying its way to a deep playoff run. Utah seemed like a solid team for him, despite it being in the same division. Detroit was the perfect scenario, and it might still be on the table.
At least for one more game, we will all see No. 18 out there rocking the Blue Note. Who knows, maybe he will survive the rest of the season and might not waive his No-Trade Clause and remain a Blue for the duration of this next era.