The Toronto Maple Leafs are in a very difficult position as they head towards the March 6 NHL trade deadline. They’ve turned things around in a big way over the past month and are now just one point out of the final wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference. However, they are also being decimated by injuries to key players – William Nylander, Chris Tanev, Anthony Stolarz and now Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Brandon Carlo – while lacking both the assets and cap space to make a real signing at the deadline. So where do they go from here?
It’s not an easy decision, but when you have Auston Matthews in his prime and firmly in the hunt for the playoffs, you have to go for it one way or another. While scoring a big shot will be extremely difficult, The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn believes Robert Thomas would be the perfect target to target.
St. Louis’ star center made a surprise appearance on TSN insider Chris Johnston, and several other reports have suggested he may not be untouchable. As a result, Luszczyszyn believes Thomas could be a player Toronto is worth paying a significant price for.
Luszczyszyn wrote:
“It can’t be understated how perfectly Thomas would fit into this team. Thomas is a right shot, a playmaker who handles tough matchups well and creates dangerous situations better than almost any other player in the league. Whether as a replacement for Marner next to Auston Matthews or as a 2C who can take some of Matthews’ defensive burden, Thomas would solve a lot of Toronto’s problems. His projected Net Rating is around plus-11 and would be enough to push the Leafs toward a career win. back into the team’s top 10… The Leafs could acquire future firsts and Cowan (who would only be worth trading for a player as valuable as Thomas), but that would come with significantly more risk if Matthews remains unsigned beyond 2028, depending on how far into the future Toronto’s pick is.
Although currently injured, the 26-year-old Thomas scored 33 points (11 goals, 22 assists) in 42 games played this season.
He is in year three of the eight-year, $65 million extension signed with the Blues in 2022.
Robert Thomas’ connection to the Maple Leafs
The idea of Thomas setting up Matthews in a manner similar to the relationship he shared with Mitch Marner for nine years is both tantalizing and realistic — and the connections between Thomas and the Maple Leafs don’t stop there.
First off, Thomas was born in Aurora, Ontario, just outside of Toronto, so he understands firsthand what it means to be a Maple Leaf. Second, he spent parts of six seasons under Craig Berube in St. Louis – including winning the Stanley Cup in 2018-2019 – that helped shape him into the star he is today.
There’s no doubt that acquiring Thomas would be costly, and general manager Brad Treliving may not even have the stuff to get a deal done. That said, if there’s a player worth parting with as a prospect that includes Easton Cowan, Ben Danford and multiple draft picks, it’s him.
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