The Montreal Canadiens entered the Olympic break with great momentum, winning four of their last five and their only loss being an overtime loss to the Minnesota Wild. The goal is to keep that momentum going once they return to the ice later this month.
General manager Kent Hughes might have to make some moves to put the Canadiens in the best position to make a deep playoff run, and Robert Thomas is a player who makes a lot of sense for them.
He is a young center at 26 years old who had back-to-back 80+ point seasons entering this season and is under contract through the 2030-31 season. The Canadiens could benefit from a young player up the middle, but if the rumoured asking price by the St. Louis Blues is true, it should be a non-starter for Montreal.
According to Nick Kypreos of Sportsnet, the St. Louis Blues are looking for the "equivalent of three Top-15 first-round picks" in return for Thomas. This is roughly on the same level of what the Vancouver Canucks got for Quinn Hughes from the Minnesota Wild when the return was Marco Rossi, Liam Ohgren, Zeev Buium and a 2026 first-round pick.
Montreal Canadiens' upgrading the center position would be nice but not at that cost
The center position was a concern earlier in the season, and Nazem Kadri seemed like a potential answer for the Canadiens. However, they elected to go with Phillip Danault as they traded with the Los Angeles Kings right before Christmas.
Now, with Danault and returning players like Jake Evans, the position has more depth. If the Canadiens were to add Thomas or Kadri, it raises the question of who Montreal would remove from the lineup.
There are areas for the Montreal Canadiens to improve, with the top need being to add another Top 6 winger who could play alongside Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield. With the roster freeze during the Olympic break, the Canadiens are going to have some time to figure out the next steps, but unless the Blues bring down their asking price, it likely won't include Robert Thomas being in Montreal before the trade deadline.