The Sheet with Jeff Marek - On the Sheet: Robert Thomas on His Crazy Trade Deadline Week

Episode Date: March 9, 2026

Robert Thomas of the St. Louis Blues joins the program to discuss a chaotic week that saw his name swirling in trade conversations, the future of the Blues, battling through injury, and how he handled one of the wildest storylines of deadline week.#NHL #NHLTradeDeadline #RobertThomas #StLouisBlues #JeffMarek #GregWyshynski #TheSheet #SidneyCrosby #PittsburghPenguins #NathanMacKinnon #NazemKadri #ColoradoAvalanche #MinnesotaWild #BuffaloSabres #TampaBayLightning #HockeyTalk #NHLNews #HockeyPodcast #DailyFaceoff #HockeyLeave a voicemail: https://www.speakpipe.com/TheSheetEmail us: [e-mail] TO OUR SPONSORS!!👍🏼 Fan Duel: https://www.fanduel.com/👍🏼Uber Eats: https://www.ubereats.com/caReach out to [e-mail] to connect with our Sales Team and discuss opportunities to partner with us!If you liked this, check out:🚨 OTT - Coming in Hot Sens | https://www.youtube.com/c/thewallyandmethotshow🚨 TOR - LeafsNation | https://www.youtube.com/@theleafsnation401🚨 EDM - OilersNation | https://www.youtube.com/@Oilersnationdotcom🚨 VAN - CanucksArmy | https://www.youtube.com/@Canucks_Army🚨 CGY - FlamesNation | https://www.youtube.com/@FNBarnBurner🚨 Daily Faceoff Fantasy & Betting | www.youtube.com/@DFOFantasyandBetting____________________________________________________________________________________________Connect with us on ⬇️Link Tree: https://linktr.ee/daily_faceoff💻 Website: https://www.dailyfaceoff.com🐦 Follow on twitter: https://x.com/DailyFaceoff💻 Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dailyfaceoffDaily Faceoff Merch:https://nationgear.ca/collections/daily-faceoffReach out to [e-mail] to connect with our Sales Team and discuss opportunities to partner with us! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Okay, let's get to our feature guest. He's a member of the St. Louis Blues, who yesterday made a very, very sweet pass in front to Snuggiero for a goal as they had their way with the Anaheim Ducks. He's Robert Thomas of the St. Louis Blues. And he joins us now. First of all, A, glad you're healthy.

B, great pass last night. C. You and Holloway look really, really good together. But what was up with last week? Was that like the craziest week? Was that like the craziest? week of your career? Yeah, it was definitely up there for sure.

It was tough on the family. And yeah, I mean, we all kind of knew a little bit of what was going to happen in a couple weeks leading up to the deadline. And yeah, I think it got a lot crazier than I thought it would. Yeah, it was just like this like ball that kept on, you know, rolling and gathering more and more and more steam. First of all, did you anticipate that this? this might have, like these conversations would even happen around trade deadline?

Because I'll be honest, a lot of us were stunned. Like, we're all stunned, most of us. Yeah, no. You know, Doug gave us a pretty good heads up. There was a group of us and that stuff in conversations like that were going to happen. And, you know, he wasn't sure where it was going to lead. But I think just giving us the heads up was kind of prepared us a little bit. And, you know, obviously didn't have to do it.

So it was really nice of them. It must be tough when it becomes apparent that your current team may not have you in their plans anymore. That being said, what an ego stroke to have fans from another NHL city chanting your name in the hopes that a trade could happen. Ravi, the Buffalo fans were chanting your name on the rumor that you might be traded there. How did that feel? Yeah, that was pretty interesting. You know, I had heard about it. I didn't think it was true.

And then, you know, one of my friends buddies here, his brother was. at the game and said it happened. So, yeah, that's, I mean, it's pretty cool, obviously. You know, that team and organization has really flourished this year and the city's alive. And I remember just after the Anaheim game, we took a peek at the Buffalo Tampa game. And it just looked like probably the craziest game of the year. So, yeah, it's pretty cool. I was going to accent.

I know you were playing Anaheim last night. You had your way with the Ducks. It was a really nice performance by your squad. but I was going to ask, like, as a team, like, would you guys go and look at what was happening between the Sabres and the Tampa Bay Lightning? Like, that game, like, it was 8-7, and it was ripped out of the pages of 1987

with the fights and the only thing missing from that game was a save, but that's fine. We don't need saves every night. Like, you guys have a look at that, and if so, like, what goes through your mind? Yeah, I mean, after every game, you always check around the league. You see what, you know, other teams are doing,

check on your buddies and different things like that. So, yeah, I think, you know, just seeing 8-7 kind of caught your eye and then you look through and saw how many fighting majors and all that stuff. And then you end up watching the replays. And yeah, we were watching it on the bus after and we're like, holy crap, that's a wild game. And I'm sure it would have been fun to watch as a fan. I had two questions about the Buffalo thing. And I ain't going to, you know, drill down too deep on this. And we want to move on to talk about other stuff.

but I know Colton Perrako got so far down the line that he talked to Yarmot. Did your situation get that far where you were talking to Kekolina? No, no, I was never asked, you know, anything from the Blues. It was, you know, everything, you know, that I heard was coming from, you know, the insiders and different things online. And, yeah, you know, I just want to be clear. I was never asked, and nor did I ever ask for a trade. I want to ask about Colton, though, because he was asked.

famously. As a player, not necessarily as a teammate, do you take some pride in the way that Colton handled this no trade situation? We've seen plenty of guys where the news gets out and all of a sudden all the insiders are talking about a trade. If he waves, it'll happen kind of thing. And then they wave, either maybe because they wanted to or because there's public pressure. But Colton didn't wave. He kind of flexed his contractual right to reject a trade. what were your thoughts on that? Maybe not only you, but also the boys, in seeing a player use that right the way that Colton did in such a public way.

Yeah. You know, obviously a really tough situation for him to be put in. You know, with it going public. I know, a lot of people felt bad for him, you know, including, you know, people in our organization. So it was a really tough spot for him. You know, he's a guy that he's been here ever since I've been here. and he just loves the city of St. Louis.

You know, he spends his off-season here. There's no one more blue than him. So it was a really hard spot for him. And, you know, I think he did, you know, went through a process and really weighed a lot of pros and cons. And ultimately, you know, came to the decision. He wasn't ready to move on. And just as teammates, you love to see it.

You know, you hate to see guys go, especially guys that you've won with. You know, it's really hard to see those guys, go like Schenner and so we're so stoked that he stuck around. Let me ask you about no trades. Like I go into every contract, every contract that I watched in NHL player sign, I assume that both sides are going at it in good faith. Okay, like the team is approaching in good faith and the players approaching good faith.

And no trades are usually asked for and given in exchange for maybe less money, whatever. Players earn them and they get them as a way to entice that player to go to that team. When a player gets asked to waive a no trade, essentially, to me, it's a team saying to a player, give me something in exchange for nothing. I want you somewhere else and it's just going to be an inconvenience for you, period. And I know I'm asking a player this and saying bringing up an idea that's ultimately going to put more money in your jeans. So maybe I'm asking the wrong person, but I've lobbied for the idea that the players, should push for, if you're going to ask a player to waive a no trade, there should be a

mechanism where that player can get compensated, right? Because asking a player to waive and then trading them gives the team something and the player nothing. Would you be in favor of, and I think I know what the answer is, a situation whereby if you agree to waive, there's a monetary figure that comes back your way. You know, Robert Thomas, Colton Pereko, Braden Chen, whatever, agree to waive their no trade. And in exchange for doing that, they get a next extra 750,000 or a million dollars, however you want to work it out. A, have you ever heard that one before? Has that ever been talked about amongst you guys?

Like, you know, we're getting asked to waive and we're not getting anything out of it. Yeah, I mean, everyone loves money, so I don't see why not. No, I've never heard of that one before. Yeah, it's an interesting idea. I don't know how it would really work, but yeah, I'm sure the players would be on board for that. Merrick, Merrick loves this idea so much.

And every time he brings it up, I'm like, okay, so how does it count against the cap? And then he just clams up for a while. No, it's fine. That's all part of CBA negotiation, baby. Come on. I'm just trying to put money in players' jeans here. These guys just got back to the Olympics, Merrick. You don't want them taking that off the table, do you?

You mentioned Shen a couple of seconds ago, and listen, you're going to play against New York Islanders. I know this is a reality that all players face. Is that one going to be different? Like, is that one going to be different for the, the St. Louis Blues facing off against Raiden Chen, against the L, playing against the Islanders later on this week? Yeah, it's going to be a tough night. Obviously, someone that was just so loved in St. Louis, you know, a huge part of winning the first cup ever in St. Louis and, you know, great leader,

great captain. And, yeah, it's going to be, I know, you know, St. Louis is going to, they loved him, and they're going to show up and really celebrate them and show their appreciation for. for how much you did for the city and the team. And yeah, it's going to be definitely an emotional night. So you signed your contract, I think, July 22, if memory serves. And obviously the St. Louis Blues are in a different place now than you probably imagine they'd be in 2026. First of all, you know, where's your head right now as far as your long-term future with the blues? And secondly, is that hard to process when you've committed long-term to an organization and you just see it kind of take a

turn a little bit? Or is it something that when you sign, you're like, this could happen. I got to, I got to take the risk. Yeah, no, obviously, we're not in a spot that we thought we would be in. You know, that part's frustrating. You know, we've been playing a lot better after the break and feel like we really, really caught on to something. But, yeah, no, my commitment to the blues has never changed, you know, behind the scenes in conversations. You know, I'd always wanted to win here as a big part in as a leader and, you know, that's something that I made clear. And, yeah, that part of my mind hasn't changed yet. You know, obviously there's been a lot of conversations about what it looks like going forward. But, you know, that's what my stance has been. And it hasn't changed yet.

And, you know, I love being in St. Louis. You know, one of the, one of the positives that we have seen, too, on the ice, you have like this, um, special connection with Dylan Holloway. Like you and Dylan Holloway together, and that passed yesterday to snugg rude and the Anaheim game was sweet and the release was great. The whole sequence was exceptional.

What is it about you and Holloway, though? I was having a conversation with someone about this this morning. Like everybody's sleeping on this. It's one of the best pairs going right now, Robert Thomas and Dylan Holloway. What's with that? Yeah, I think just, you know, his vision is awesome. Like, obviously everyone knows he's got a great shot.

you can skate well. But, you know, he makes a lot of plays. He comes up with a lot of pucks in the corner and he's looking for the slot right away. And same with Snuggie too. Like he's his shot, I think everyone knows. But, you know, he's developed like a patience with the puck. You know, he's using his body a lot more and taking that extra second. And, you know, he made a pass to me the game before in San Jose where, you know, I didn't even think he was going to get it off. He didn't even look and he just fired it right on my tape. So, Those two guys are playing really well. And I think the biggest thing with Holly is, you know, righty, lefty, having that where you guys can work in opposite corners and the other guy being the slot and it be a one-timer.

You know, that's something that's, you know, really underrated. Let me ask you about the cup team. Because I said to somebody last week that I don't think I've talked about the blues this much since Brett Hall was on stage for your cup celebration. But I wanted to, but I wanted to ask you, like, you know, every time a team can. just fire and I think Buffalo is kind of that team right now. There's always comparisons to the way that your team, your blues team, kind of found themselves inside the season and then got rolling and then obviously carried that over to the postseason.

Do you remember anything in particular that was sort of a harbinger or kind of told you that that was happening in the moment when you look back on it? It's hard to pick one thing. I think, you know, confidence is such a huge thing. Like there's being confident and then there's just like, I'm, mindset where you feel like you're unstoppable and you know our team felt like we were unstoppable that year didn't matter if we were down two goals in the third period you know we just found a way to come back get it to overtime and maybe win and um that's just the way it felt

um it kind of felt like that last year um after the break um as well when we went on that big run so um yeah there's just ways that teams be confident and um i feel like that was a a huge part of it. What was, because there was a, there were a couple of moments in that season. And I remember talking to Pat Maroon about this. He was, they were going to send him down to the American Hockey League. And I've talked to him about, you know, there's no guarantees that Pat Maroon comes back up. And now he finished his career, his career was Stanley Cup rings.

Jay Beaumister was going to get scratched. Like there was like, it was like every couple of days, the coaching change. Like there was something like, it was just like you guys were getting hammered. on every few days. Like was there one moment you looked at and you said like, well, it can't get any worse than this. You know, like you got veteran players like Joe

like Jay Bowman's, I don't know that I don't know, maybe you clearly you shared a dressing room with him so you'll be able to tell us more than that I will. But like, he's always just like chilled out Jay Beaumester and he was like mad. There was that game in Toronto. He was like livid and I was like, oh, this is serious

because this isn't the Jay Bowmeester that we know. Like was there a moment in the season where you're like, man, this is, this is awful. Like, how do we get out of this? Yeah. Honestly, for me, like, it was my first year. I was just so happy to be there. You know, it was a pretty...

Every two weeks was nice. Every two weeks, this is the best. Yeah, you get past your 10 games and you just look at the next milestone. So, yeah, no, it was, you know, obviously a lot of turmoil and uncertainty. And, you know, for me, presented an opportunity to really jump up, you know, the lineup, jump into a role that I felt like, you know, I could really contribute to the team. And so, so for me, there wasn't really as much hardship as, you know, now I'm going through it on the other side of it. And we got a lot of

young guys who are kind of jumping in the lineup. So now I understand it a lot more. But for me, it was just, every day, it was just so awesome to be there. And so I didn't really have a moment like that. Last one for me, you know, it's hard to gauge what the blues are this season because they have the misfortune of being in maybe the best division I've ever seen under the current playoff format. Like Colorado, Minnesota, Dallas, all top five. Utah's good. You know, here come the Jets, five points out of the wild card right now.

You know, Nashville's hanging around. What was it like on a night-to-night basis just trying to gain any traction whatsoever against that division? Yeah, you know, just the first half. you know, Colorado just seemed to never lose. You know, then Minnie makes the big Quinn Hughes trade, and they don't lose for a long time. And, you know, Dallas has always been really good.

So, yeah, that's, it was definitely tough. You know, we just couldn't find our footing. We seemed to be, you know, for the majority of the season of 500 team, and just couldn't string together a couple win streaks, which is what you need to do. And, you know, then we found ourselves in this situation. but yeah it's a tough division to look at you know so many good teams and teams that are

definitely Stanley Cup contenders so it makes for an interesting night every night and we feel like we're gaining momentum here and you know you never know let me ask you mentioned some of the younger players and there's one that sort of stands out to me and he played in the OHA as an import and that's

Dallabor Dvorsky, who really seems to have taken a step this year. You guys, you know, better than Greg and I do, obviously. What should we know about Dallabor Dvorsky? Because he looks like he's, like so much of St. Louis's decisions now may

just hinge on how quickly this guy can be a two C. Yeah, I mean, he's grown a lot. You know, it's tough being a young center in the league. You know, a lot of us like me start on wing and kind of get a couple years on the wing before they move you to center. And he's a guy that, I mean, I think everyone sought out the Olympics.

He's got the capability to be a really good player in this league. And yeah, he's a young centerman, so it's going to take time. But just his progress throughout the year, like even last game he was taking empty net faceoffs. Like there's a lot of trust they're gaining in him. And, you know, his hockey IQ is what. what makes it for him. You know, he can skate. He's not, you know, the best skater in the world.

Neither are a lot of us, but, you know, really smart player. He's got, he's competitive. He wins a lot of those battles down low in the D zone. And then, you know, offensively, you know, especially on the power play of the half, he's got a great one-timer. And he sees the ice really well.

So he's a huge part of the future here. Really, well, a quick follow up to that. What is the hardest thing about being a young center in the NHL? Is it just like having strength at faceoffs? Like what is it down low support and a defensive zone? Like what's the hardest thing as a young center? You went through it. Yeah.

I mean, you know, face-offs, let's get into the old linesman. You don't get to cheat when you're young. So you got to play it by the book and you get screwed sometimes. But yeah, especially in the D zone. You know, we run a man on man. So you got to as a centerman, you're usually picking up, you know, one of the top forwards out there. And, you know, it's tough.

There's a lot of skilled players. You know, sometimes he gets stuck out, especially in our division against, you know, McKinan, Caprizov, a lot of those things. And, you know, he's done a good job of getting used to it. You know, yeah, it's funny. It's funny. Matthew Shane told me that once where, like, if you make a mistake in junior, it might end up in the back of your night, you make a mistake in the NHL. One of the best players in the world is grabbing up on it and going the other way. He's coming right after you, yep.

You know, it's funny you mention faceoffs and getting to know linesmen. I was just in Brantford last week and talking to Caleb Malhotra. He's going to be like a top five pick in the NHL this year. He's a center. He's man. He's kid. Jay McKee, who's the coach of the Bulldogs, your former team, said that Malhotra came up to the beginning of the year and said, can you make me a list of the first names of all the linesmen in the OHL so I can have

that kind of relationship for him. nudge, nudge, drop the puck closer to me on face-offs. But I just thought that that was like such a, obviously having your dad go through the NHL kind of helps. But I just thought to myself, I'm hearing you talk about that, getting the linesman. Oh, yeah, that's the benefit of being a second generation player. Yeah, no, 100%.

That was something, you know, Big Walt taught me pretty early on, is you got to be really nice to those guys. They'll drop the puck closer. Drop the puck closer. But thanks so much for doing this. Robert, you're the best. Stand-up guy. And thanks so much for stopping by today.

Continued success with this hot line, man. It looks really good. Keep it rolling. Yeah, I appreciate it, guys. Good chat.