The St. Louis Blues are off to a decent start in a difficult Central Division, but unfortunately they will be a bit shorthanded for a while.

On Wednesday, the Blues placed top center Robert Thomas on injured reserve after he suffered a broken ankle in Tuesday’s loss to the Winnipeg Jets. According to the team’s website, he will be reevaluated in six weeks.

The 25-year-old Thomas is one of the Blues’ top point scorers and perhaps one of the most underrated players in the league. In 403 regular season games, the Aurora, Ontario native recorded 87 goals and 234 assists for 321 points. Last season was the best of his career as he scored 26 goals and 60 assists for 86 points and earned his first All-Star Game appearance

This season, Thomas has one goal and five assists for six points, which is the second-most points on the team behind Jordan Kyrou. On Tuesday, he assisted on both of St. Louis’ goals before exiting due to injury.

It goes without saying, but the Blues will miss Thomas sorely while he’s out. Pavel Buchnevich will likely take over the top center position, but that obviously has an impact on the entire lineup.

The Blues return to action when they face the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday, led by Craig Berube, the man who coached St. Louis to a 2019 Stanley Cup championship.

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