Blues’ Robert Thomas takes leave of absence due to personal matter

The St. Louis Blues will return from the Olympic break without one of their forwards.

Robert Thomas is taking a temporary leave of absence from the team due to a personal matter, general manager Doug Armstrong announced on Wednesday.

Out of respect for Thomas’s privacy, the Blues are providing no further comment on the matter at this time.

The Blues expect Thomas to return to the team on Friday, meaning he will miss Thursday’s game against the Seattle Kraken.

With his 11 goals and 22 assists in 42 games this season, and the Blues sitting 31st in the NHL, Thomas has been a popular name in the rumour mill ahead of the March 6 NHL trade deadline.

He even addressed the rumours last week.

“It’s part of it. We know where we’re at in the standings,” Thomas said of the trade noise, per Lou Korac of The Hockey News. “When you’re in this position, stuff like that happens. You’ve just got to own it. I’m a big part of the reason we’re here to where we’re at. I know stuff like that’s going to come and go. It’s been happening for the last couple of years.”

Thomas signed an eight-year, $65-million extension with the Blues in 2022, and his no-trade clause kicked in at the beginning of this season.

Despite the rumours, the Blues reportedly have a very significant asking price for Thomas, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

The 26-year-old is also unwilling to say if he’d waive his no-trade clause.

“I don’t really want to talk too much about it now. We’ll talk about it later,” Thomas said. “I have one. That’s kind of where we’re at.”