- Wild dangled Jesper Wallstedt and Danila Yurov to St. Louis for Blues center Robert Thomas before the trade deadline
- Blues passed on the package, reportedly looking for at least three top-15-level assets for their No. 1 center
- Read below for the package details, video of Thomas torching Colorado, and why Bill Guerin is expected to call back this summer
The Minnesota Wild made a real run at the kind of center they have been hunting for years.
Per Michael Russo of The Athletic, the Wild pitched the St. Louis Blues a package of goaltender Jesper Wallstedt and center Danila Yurov for Robert Thomas before the trade deadline. The Blues said no.
That is a hefty offer. Wallstedt is widely viewed as one of the better young goalies in the NHL, and Yurov was Minnesota’s first-round pick in 2022 with top-six upside down the middle. Back in March, the Blues’ price on Thomas was reportedly three top-15-level assets, and St. Louis felt the Wallstedt-Yurov fit on their roster was not quite there.
St. Louis already has Jordan Binnington in net plus Joel Hofer pegged as the goalie of the future, which dulled Wallstedt’s value to them. Yurov is a complicated fit too, given the questions about whether he can stick down the middle long-term.
Thomas would have been a major needle-mover for Minnesota. The 26-year-old put up 64 points in 64 games this season despite missing 18 games to injury, and he is signed through 2030-31 at an $8.125 million cap hit.
He capped his year with two April hat tricks, the first of them coming in a road win over Colorado. Watch the video:
Across the regular season, Thomas finished as the league’s shooting-percentage leader at 24.5 percent. The Blues put out a quick career-night reel once the year wrapped:
Bill Guerin already shipped Minnesota’s 2026 first to Vancouver in the Quinn Hughes deal earlier this year, so the 2027 first becomes the logical next chip if the Wild try again. Wallstedt’s stock only climbed during the playoff run, where he took over as starter against Colorado before things unraveled in a Game 1 shellacking that saw him surrender eight goals.
Alexander Steen takes over as Blues GM on July 1. Russo expects Guerin to circle back.
