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Greg Wyshynski, ESPNMar 7, 2024, 07:00 AM ET
CloseGreg Wyshynski is ESPN’s senior NHL writer.
Inside the home of Robert Thomas is a replica Stanley Cup sitting on a desk. It’s a conversation piece, a reminder of career accomplishments and something his guests inevitably drink out of during house parties.
“I mean, it’s only like a good half sip,” Thomas said, laughing. “But it’ll do the job.”
Thomas lifted the actual Stanley Cup in 2019 with the St. Louis Blues. He was a rookie then. He’s an NHL All-Star now. He admits that the championship feels “forever ago” to him.
“I was pretty lucky my first year. So I was kind of going into every year thinking I’ll be in the Cup Final or winning it all. And now, a couple of years later, we haven’t gotten close,” he said. “I’m just itching to get another chance at it.”
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He was a 19-year-old supporting player who skated 13:07 per game in the Blues’ Stanley Cup run. Now in his sixth season, Thomas is the leading scorer for St. Louis with 69 points in 62 games, playing 20:53 on average.
His general manager, Doug Armstrong, said there’s “no question” Thomas is a No. 1 center in the NHL. Armstrong followed through on that praise by giving Thomas an eight-year contract with an average annual value of $8.125 million in July 2022.
This is the first year of that $65 million contract. Armstrong has called it an investment in Thomas’ future; and like any investment, he wants to see it mature. Before the season, Armstrong said he wanted to see Thomas go from being an offensive standout to a complete NHL center.
“It’s the 200-foot game,” the GM said. “It’s a tough task. You’re going against [Auston] Matthews. You’re going against [Sidney] Crosby. You’re going against [Anze] Kopitar. His job is not only to play with those guys, but to outcompete them and outperform them. But the belief in Robert has never been higher that he’s ready for that challenge.”
Thomas accepted the challenge.
“I put a big emphasis on it this summer….
Source link : https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/39669028/nhl-robert-thomas-blues-stanley-cup-playoffs-all-star
Author : Greg Wyshynski
Publish date : 2024-03-07 11:22:46
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