The St. Louis Blues have named center Robert Thomas the 25th captain in franchise history, handing the “C” to a homegrown first-round pick who has become the face of the club’s next era.
The 27-year-old Aurora, Ontario, native succeeds Brayden Schenn, who was traded to the New York Islanders on March 6. The team announced the move Wednesday and will formally introduce Thomas at a Thursday afternoon press conference at Enterprise Center with general manager Alexander Steen and head coach Jim Montgomery.
Thomas was selected 20th overall in the 2017 NHL Draft and is the fifth original Blues draft choice to wear the captain’s letter. He made his NHL debut the following season and contributed as a rookie on the 2019 Stanley Cup team, recording six points in 21 playoff games. In eight seasons he has produced 460 points (132 goals, 328 assists) in 530 regular-season games, good for a share of 10th on the franchise scoring list and fifth in assists.
He has led the Blues in scoring in each of the last three seasons and paced Blues forwards in ice time over that span. Thomas posted a career-high 86 points (26 goals, 60 assists) in 2023-24, followed with 81 points in 2024-25, and finished 2025-26 with 64 points (25 goals, 39 assists) in 64 games after missing time with a midseason injury. He became the first Blue since Brett Hull (1995-97) to record consecutive 80-point seasons.
Thomas is under contract through 2030-31 on the eight-year, $65 million deal he signed in July 2022 ($8.125 million AAV), with five seasons remaining. He previously served as an alternate captain and took on a larger voice in the room after Schenn’s departure.
The club also named a four-man rotation of alternate captains for 2026-27: defensemen Colton Parayko and Philip Broberg, and forwards Jake Neighbours and Dylan Holloway.
Parayko, 33, is the longest-tenured Blue and ranks third in franchise games played (800). Broberg, 25, and Holloway, 24, arrived via offer sheets from Edmonton before 2024-25 and have become core pieces; Broberg signed a six-year extension in January. Neighbours, a 2020 first-round pick, has worn an “A” before. Holloway is receiving the designation for the first time.
The group mixes veteran presence with the young core the organization is building around. After missing the playoffs in three of the last four seasons, St. Louis opens 2026-27 on Oct. 2 in Dallas. Thomas’s first game as captain is expected to come that night.
Hockey circles have largely praised the choice, citing Thomas’s production, championship pedigree, and steady presence through last season’s trade rumors. For a franchise looking to stabilize and climb back into the postseason picture, the “C” now sits on the sweater of the player who has spent his entire NHL career wearing the Blue Note.
