According to Frank Seravalli, the St. Louis Blues have agreed to terms on a Robert Thomas extension. The deal is reportedly for eight years and worth $64 million dollars and carries an AAV of $8 million dollars. Thomas was set to become a restricted free agent at the end of the 2022-23 season before agreeing to the new contract.
Hearing #stlblues and forward Robert Thomas are closing in on a long-term extension. Expecting him to land in the neighborhood of 8 years, $64 million when it’s all done.
Story on @DailyFaceoff:https://t.co/fsatYtLKVq
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) July 13, 2022
Robert Thomas Extension
Thomas had a break-out season in 2021-22. He scored 20 goals and 77 points for the Blues this past season. Thomas is known as a heady two-way center and this season he was finally able to put it all together for St. Louis.
Thomas was the Blues first-round selection (20th overall) in the 2017 NHL Draft. Throughout his first three seasons with the Blues, Thomas has struggled with injuries and inconsistent play. He only posted 87 points in 169 games in that time. While his numbers aren’t particularly flashy, he was still an efficient scorer on a per-60 basis despite only logging an average of 13:36 ice time.
This season Thomas saw a greater opportunity in the Blues lineup and took full advantage. His average ice time bumped up to 18:46 and produced accordingly. Thomas averaged the second-most assists per-60 in the entire league. Only Johnny Gaudreau average more.
What This Means
By signing this Robert Thomas extension, the Blues are making a significant commitment in terms of dollars and years to Thomas. It is clear that the Blues view Thomas as a key part of their core for the long-term future. Still, the Blues have some more work to do this off-season. While the Robert Thomas extension was the first piece of the puzzle, they still need to lock up other potential restricted free agents. Jordan Kyrou and Scott Perunovich are other pieces of the Blues future that will need to be signed as well. Blues General Manager Doug Armstrong still has a lot of work to do.
Blues’ Robert Thomas says he’s ‘good to go’ for Game 6. https://t.co/GYaiZ4LFlK pic.twitter.com/oPDxNXS2Pl
— theScore (@theScore) June 9, 2019
The post Report: St. Louis Blues Extend Star Center appeared first on Last Word On Hockey.