Amongst the takeaways from the St. Louis Blues through 13 games this season is how good center Robert Thomas has been. He’s been elite in several ways, helping lead the Blues to a 7-5-1 record and into the Central Division mix. The Blues signed Thomas to an eight-year extension with an annual average value (AAV) of $8.125 million that kicked in this season. He’s been worth this deal and more, which is saying a lot with how lucrative this deal was for 24-year-old Thomas. Let’s delve into how good he’s been this season for the Blues.
Thomas Finally Shooting the Puck More
When Thomas shoots the puck more, he becomes a far more dynamic player with the danger that his passing ability presents. He’s had shooting percentages above 10 percent in all six seasons of his career. He’s at 20.7 percent right now with six goals in 13 games, including five goals in the last six games.
Last season, Thomas averaged 1.45 shots per game and had 106 shots in 73 games. He’s up to 2.23 shots per game this season with 29 shots on goal in 13 games. Let’s look at his shooting numbers throughout his career overall.
| Season | Games | Shots Per Game | Shooting Percentage (Number of Goals) |
| 2018-19 | 70 | 1.14 | 11.3 (9) |
| 2019-20 | 66 | 1.31 | 11.5 (10) |
| 2020-21 | 33 | 0.66 | 13.6 (3) |
| 2021-22 | 72 | 1.59 | 17.4 (20) |
| 2022-23 | 73 | 1.45 | 17.0 (18) |
| 2023-24 | 13 | 2.23 | 20.7 (6) |
Source: Hockey Reference
It’s safe to say that the last three seasons have proven Thomas’s growth and confidence as an offensive threat on the Blues’ top line. His numbers won’t be this great all season, but he’s been as good as ever through 13 games. Getting 25 goals or more from him this season would be a massive win for the club. He’s one of the Blues’ best drivers of offense and they’ve needed that all season after their wildly slow offensive start.
Dominance in the Faceoff Circle for Thomas
Thomas has been as good as ever in the faceoff circle this season. He ranks 14th amongst notable NHL centers with 146 faceoff wins and he’s won 55.9 percent in the circle. The Blues have been below average in the NHL through 13 games in the faceoff circle, but Thomas has been one of the only bright spots alongside Kevin Hayes in this area of the game.
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Thomas was below 50 percent in his first four seasons, but he’s won above 50 percent in the last two seasons and he’s grown a lot this season. One of the key traits of a first-line center is winning faceoffs, so it’s good a sign that he’s above average at it in his age-24 season. Over the past two seasons, the Blues needed to find a top center that meets the expectations of Ryan O’Reilly in both the faceoff circle and two-way ability, and I think Thomas is doing that and more. O’Reilly represents a huge part of Blues franchise history, but the torch has been passed to Thomas, who has taken it and run with it.
Thomas Living up to the Billing of a Top Center
The Blues have found their top center over the next eight seasons and beyond in Thomas. He was the 20th overall pick in the 2017 Draft and has slowly developed into an elite center at the NHL level.
For the first time in his career, he’s playing above 20 minutes per game. He’s also playing key penalty-killing minutes alongside the Blues’ other top forward Pavel Buchnevich. He has become as valuable as anybody on this Blues roster, so his $8.125 million AAV will look really good as the NHL salary cap rises over the next four to five years.
Overall, Thomas has become an elite top center for a Blues team that has desperately needed it over the past two seasons with O’Reilly on his way out and natural regression for Brayden Schenn. I expect him to continue to play well and have one of the best contracts in the league moving forward.
