The Boston Bruins and St. Louis Blues have quite a history over the past decade. It started with the 2019 Stanley Cup Final, when they quickly became rivals, and continued last season when Jim Montgomery returned to his old team after being fired by the Bruins. Through it all, Don Sweeney and Blues general manager Doug Armstrong have had to maintain a relationship while serving in the Team Canada front office.
Sweeney and Armstrong have been able to separate their two roles, which makes the possibility of them becoming trade partners quite intriguing. The league now knows that the Bruins are willing to get in the buyer's market after their pursuit of Rasmus Andersson, and the Blues are reportedly listening to offers on big-name players like Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou. Boston feels like a strong fit for Thomas if Armstrong does pull the trigger.
Recent talks between Armstrong and Sweeney have been centered around Team Canada. But I've been told that those talks also went beyond the Olympics.
— Dominic Tiano (@dominictiano) January 20, 2026
Dominic Tiano's report about Armstrong and Sweeney's conversations is vague. He doesn't confirm that these talks are about trades, and I do have one theory that it could be about the future of Team Canada and whether Sweeney is next in line to run the team if Armstrong steps down after the 2026 Olympics. However, for the sake of speculation, we'll assume that Tiano is alluding to a trade.
The Bruins have been searching for a first-line center since Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci's departure, which means Thomas would be an immediate fit. He is in the middle of a down season, but Thomas, at his best, is a point-per-game player who is also valuable in his own end of the ice. He'd make the perfect Bruin.
The need for center-ice depth isn't as prominent with the work Sweeney has done over the past year. James Hagens, Dean Letourneau, Fraser Minten, and Dans Locmelis are all looking like solid options in the coming years. The Bruins aren't in a position to overpay for a center as they were in past years, but that doesn't mean they can't discuss potentially acquiring Thomas.
What a potential Bruins-Blues trade would mean
Jim Montgomery was a huge fan of Mason Lohrei and Matthew Poitras while in Boston. They were the reported players on the table in the Andersson trade, and it's likely that Montgomery would have some interest in getting them in his group in St. Louis.
The Bruins would also need to add a couple of draft picks, considering Thomas is a 26-year-old center on a team-friendly deal for the next five seasons. It won't be easy to pry him out of the Blues' organization, but Boston has the assets to make it happen.
Would the Bruins risk trading their first-round pick this year to get Thomas in the door? If they continue to stay in the middle of the first round, there likely won't be a player who could impact the lineup as much as the Blues' center.
If the Bruins had Thomas in the lineup, there's a greater chance that their first-rounder isn't as high in the draft. They also have to consider that he aligns better with the team's core in terms of age than a draft pick, who might not debut until David Pastrnak is in his mid-30s.
If the ask for Thomas is too rich, the Bruins could increase their wing depth by adding Kyrou. He'd have a much smaller price tag than Thomas and would also bring some more strength down the lineup behind Pastrnak.