The St. Louis Blues have named center Robert Thomas as the 25th captain in franchise history, months after his name was heavily circulated in trade rumors.
Thomas, 27, led the Blues with 64 points (25 goals, 39 assists) in 64 games last season, skating to a plus-22. Thomas has 132 goals and 328 assists in 530 career games. He's entering his ninth NHL season after being selected by St. Louis 20th overall in the 2017 NHL draft. Thomas will become the seventh original Blues draft pick to be named captain.
Thomas replaces Brayden Schenn as captain, who was traded to the New York Islanders at last season's deadline.
Defensemen Colton Parayko and Philip Broberg, and forwards Jake Neighbours and Dylan Holloway, will be named assistant captains for the 2026-27 season at a news conference Thursday.
Thomas is signed through the 2030-31 NHL season with an average annual contract value of $8.125 million. He has a full no-movement clause until the last year of his contract, but that didn't stop his name from whirling through the rumor mill last season. The Minnesota Wild and Buffalo Sabres were among the teams that made offers for Thomas, but those talks never reached the point where the Blues asked Thomas to waive his trade protection.
