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Robert Thomas, St. Louis Blues (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)

Sabres Trade Target: Robert Thomas

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers | By Zach Berta | Last updated Jan 22, 2026 4:00 PM ET

The Buffalo Sabres are in the midst of one of their hottest stretches of games in franchise history. Now sitting in the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with a record of 26-17-5 (57 points), they’ll be looking to make the playoffs for the first time in 14 seasons.

There have also been reports circulating that Sabres general manager Jarmo Kekalainen could become a buyer as we get closer to the 2026 Trade Deadline on March 6.

With that in mind, a few players will be made available for trade, or at least teams will be listening to offers on certain players. We’ve already seen the Calgary Flames trade Rasmus Andersson to the Vegas Golden Knights and the Vancouver Canucks trade Kiefer Sherwood to the San Jose Sharks; we could see a few other teams try to sell off pieces before the Olympic roster freeze on Feb. 4. One of those teams could be the St. Louis Blues with Robert Thomas, who would be a great addition to the Sabres lineup.

Robert Thomas Brings Depth/Experience to Sabres Lineup

Thomas is a center, and with good center depth between Tage Thompson, Josh Norris, and Ryan McLeod, it would seem to some people that trading for Thomas would add “too much center depth” to the Sabres lineup.

First off, a team cannot have too much center depth, but given Norris’ injury history, adding Thomas would be beneficial (especially because he’s been hurt two separate times already this season and is now listed as “week-to-week” according to Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff).

Thomas has had a down season by his standards: in 42 games, he’s recorded 33 points (11 goals, 22 assists) and is currently on injured reserve. However, in the last two seasons, Thomas was the Blues’ best player, recording 81 points in 2024-25 and 86 points in 2023-24.

Not only would Thomas bring a lot of skill to the lineup and would help the Sabres’ power play tremendously, but he also has the playoff and Stanley Cup experience. He’s had multiple playoff runs with the Blues, including his rookie season, when he played 70 games in the regular season and another 21 in the playoffs, and was part of a Blues team that won the Stanley Cup in 2019.

Sabres’ Hypothetical Trade for Thomas

Sabres Acquire

Robert Thomas

Blues Acquire

Isak Rosen
Nikita Novikov
2027 first-round draft pick

In this trade, the Sabres get a borderline elite playmaker in Thomas, who will have a big chance to succeed in Buffalo considering how much talent is already on the Sabres roster.

The Blues get future assets. Rosen, who has minimal NHL experience, will have a chance to prove himself as a full-time NHLer on a Blues team that is in 15th place in the Western Conference. They also get a pure prospect defenseman in Novikov, who has been really good in the American Hockey League for the Rochester Americans. Plus, they get a 2027 first-round draft pick to start building for the future.

For the Sabres, here are the projected lines (fully healthy) if they were to acquire Thomas for the suggested trade package I just gave:

Josh Doan – Tage Thompson – Alex Tuch
Jason Zucker – Josh Norris – Jack Quinn
Konsta Helenius – Noah Ostlund – Zach Benson
Peyton Krebs – Ryan McLeod – Beck Malenstyn

Now, some controversy about putting McLeod on the fourth line, but personally, I look at these numbers. Ruff will be able to roll all four lines for 60 minutes a night. Adding Thomas in this trade suddenly makes the Sabres’ lineup one of the deepest in the league.

What do you think? Is this trade a win for both sides? Is there one clear winner, and should the Sabres pursue Thomas as we get closer to the 2026 Trade Deadline?