The St. Louis Blues will be without their most productive player for the foreseeable future.
Robert Thomas has undergone a minor leg procedure and is expected to be out through the Olympic break.
Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman first reported the news on the Saturday Headlines segment of Hockey Night in Canada, and it was later announced by the team.
According to Friedman, Thomas underwent surgery earlier in the week and it was a "small cleanup," which might "slow down" any trade conversations involving the 26-year-old.
Thomas is in Year 3 of an eight-year deal with an AAV of $8.125 million.
He leads the Blues with 33 points through his 42 appearances this season (11 goals, 22 assists), holding a minus-3 mark in that span. Thomas also leads St. Louis in face-off wins (379) and is second in takeaways (22).
Despite Thomas' individual production, St. Louis has not found similar success this season, currently seventh in the Central Division thanks to a 20-25-9 record entering Saturday. All of which has prompted chatter on the former Stanley Cup champ's future outlook with the squad that originally selected Thomas with the 20th-overall pick in the 2017 draft.
He's since racked up 508 appearances for the franchise over eight seasons, logging 118 goals and 311 assists for 429 points and a plus-43 mark in that span.
Friedman went on to reiterate that the injury is "not serious" and it won't cost the Aurora, Ont., native the rest of the season.
St. Louis plays the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday night and then has just two games remaining before the Olympic break begins.
