In the run-up to the trade deadline, St. Louis Blues [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/st-louis-blues] center Robert Thomas’ reported availability continues to make the headlines. The Central Division team is currently dead last in its division and second-to-last in the Western Conference and has let it be known that it’s ready to move on from some of its veterans, including their first-line center, Thomas. According to multiple reports, the Montreal Canadiens [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens] are very interested in the pivot, and they have been for some time, as RG.org writer Marco D’Amico reports [https://rg.org/en-ca/news/hockey/canadiens-among-group-teams-monitoring-robert-thomas-situation-blues]. The Habs brass contacted the Blues' front office but backed off due to the steep asking price. Last month, Nick Kypreos reported that Doug Armstrong and co. were after the equivalent of three first-round picks [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/latest-news/could-the-canadiens-meet-the-blues-reported-asking-price-for-thomas]to let go of the pivot. Today, D’Amico reports that the ask would be equivalent to four first-round picks. Could Canadiens Rookie Become Trade Bait? [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/latest-news/could-canadiens-rookie-become-trade-bait] 2 Former Canadiens Get Waived [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/latest-news/former-canadiens-forward-gets-waived] Canadiens’ Goaltending Dilemma Still An Issue [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/latest-news/canadiens-goaltending-dilemma-still-an-issue] On the latest episode of The Sick Podcast [https://www.youtube.com/live/OGAM05x2-xw], Sportsnet’s Eric Engels says he believes a deal for Thomas would likely look like the one between the Vancouver Canucks [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/vancouver-canucks] and the Minnesota Wild [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/minnesota-wild] for Quinn Hughes in which Vancouver received defenseman Zeev Buium (12th overall pick at the 2024 draft), center Marco Rossi (9th overall pick at the 2020 draft), winger Liam Ohgren (19th overall pick at the 2022 draft) and Minnesota’s first-round pick at the upcoming draft. In other words, four first-round pick players. If that’s the asking price, the Canadiens could definitely meet it, as they have the assets, but D’Amico believes Armstrong would want highly touted prospect Michael Hage to be part of the deal, and the Habs are reluctant to part with the youngster. As you might recall, the Canadiens traded up with the Los Angeles Kings at the 2024 draft to select Hage with the 21st overall pick, as they were quite high on the player. Since then, the youngster has put two solid seasons together in the NCAA, recording 34 points in 31 games in his rookie season with the University of Michigan, and he now has 45 points in 34 games in his sophomore season. Furthermore, at the latest World Junior Championship, he led the scoring race with 15 points in just seven games. Whether the Habs’ brass likes it or not, right now, Hage has the wow factor to make that deal happen. At the end of the day, Tomas is an established first-line center in the NHL, and those rarely become available. President of hockey operations Jeff Gorton and GM Hughes have said in the past that they would be willing to overpay for the right piece that would make the Canadiens a contender. While some will say it’s still too early for that and the Habs may be in a better place a year from now, the fact is that Thomas is available now. He’s 26 years old and fits in the Canadiens’ core age group; he’s signed for another four seasons at just $8,125,000 per year. He’s coming off two 80+-point seasons, and while he’s having a disappointing season, who isn’t in St-Louis? The dilemma then becomes, will Hage be a better center than Thomas if and when he reaches the NHL? There’s no way to know that. Winning the scoring race at the WJC doesn’t guarantee offensive success in the NHL. Ryan Poehling was second in scoring in 2019 and won the tournament MVP, and he’s currently the Anaheim Ducks’ third-line centre. Then again, Poehling didn’t benefit from the development team the Canadiens currently have. If the Canadiens decided that Thomas is too good an opportunity to pass on, it looks like they will have to let Hage reluctantly go on top of adding multiple other pieces that may leave their prospect cupboard a bit bare. Ivan Demidov, Juraj Slafkovsky, and Cole Caufield are probably untouchables. Still, the likes of Oliver Kapanen [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/latest-news/could-canadiens-rookie-become-trade-bait] (even though he was a second-round pick), David Reinbacher, and Alexander Zharovsky, who was an early second-round pick but is certainly worth a first now, could also be in play. It would take some serious magic from Hughes to manage to land Thomas without sacrificing Hage. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Follow Karine on X @KarineHains [https://x.com/KarineHains] Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/karinehains.bsky.social] and Threads @karinehains [https://www.threads.net/@karinehains]. Image [https://cdn.ramp-assets.playwire.com/1025444/76033/house_ads/file-1762367418209.jpg] Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens' page [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/] for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens. Join the discussion by signing up to the Canadiens' roundtable [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens] on The Hockey News. Subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free [https://thehockeynews.store/products/print-subscription]. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here [http://eepurl.com/i7OC4I].
