The Buffalo Sabres and St. Louis Blues have apparently reached a stalemate in discussions about a franchise-altering deal centered around playmaking forward Robert Thomas leading up to Friday's 2026 NHL trade deadline.
TSN's Darren Dreger reported Wednesday the front offices “went the distance” in trade talks but couldn't come to an agreement to send the 26-year-old All-Star to Buffalo.
"Sounds like the Sabres aren't willing to part with the necessary pieces. Prospects, player, 1st [round draft pick]," Dreger wrote. "Still teams nibbling, but the Blues are firm in what the return needs to be for the young center."
It's a setback after Buffalo appeared to emerge as the front-runner for Thomas on Tuesday.
RG's Marco D'Amico previously reported two of the Sabres' Atlantic Division rivals, the Detroit Red Wings and Montreal Canadiens, were showing serious interest in the Blues cornerstone. The Utah Mammoth were also mentioned as a potential suitor.
St. Louis is under no pressure to move Thomas, who's under contract through the 2030-31 season with a reasonable $8.125 million salary-cap hit, which likely decreases the chances of a trade coming together before Friday afternoon.
Buffalo Sabres may not be giving up on their efforts to land St. Louis Blues center Robert Thomas
All hope may not be lost for Sabres fans who were all-in on Thomas heading to Western New York.
"I don't get the sense Thomas is off the table now for the Sabres," Chad DeDominicis of Expected Buffalo reported Wednesday morning. "So we'll see the next 48 hours."
Everybody understands the acquisition cost would be extraordinary — Thomas has recorded 344 points in 340 games over the past five seasons in St. Louis along with strong defensive metrics — but the question is whether Buffalo general manager Jarmo Kekalainen draws the line.
Based on reading the tea leaves, the answer may be Owen Power.
There was ample speculation surrounding Power on Tuesday but it's hard to imagine the Sabres would give up the 2021 No. 1 overall pick along with a few top prospects and/or first-round draft picks in order to land Thomas.
Buffalo may be willing to do a package like Konsta Helenius (its top forward prospect), Radim Mrtka (its top defensive prospect), winger Jack Quinn and a 2026 first-rounder for Thomas, and that feels like a fair deal on the surface.
Taking out Quinn and replacing him with Power simply tips the scales too far in St. Louis' direction, though. That's a potential first-pair defenseman, two A-tier prospects and would leave the Sabres without a pick in the top two rounds of this year's draft.
Perhaps Wednesday's report from Dreger is an attempt by the Blues to put some pressure on Kekalainen to improve his offer. At some point, however, the price simply isn't right, even when it comes to a potentially massive addition like Thomas.
The Sabres also have to view the situation through the lens of their recent success. They've been perhaps the NHL's best team since early December, so are they really going to significantly mess with that formula by removing Power (or another roster pillar) from the equation? Probably not.
It sounds like there's a chance the two sides circle back before the deadline, so maybe Thomas (who'd have to waive his no-trade clause) will still end up as a Sabre this week.
That possibility is seemingly fading, though.