you are forced to sit down and you cannot leave until you find a single asset to trade Thomas for. A 1 for 1. Who are you asking for in return (any team)

Honestly, I'd abstain. How could I want to trade that kid? He's a baller.

Echoing what others have said, but Thomas is untouchable (he's likely our top line center in the next couple of years) and also DeAngelo is very overrated IMO.

There was a thread a few days back about Colorado Makar for Marner and all the Colorado fans were like "no thanks" and the leafs fans couldn't believe it because Marner is the better player. Sometimes it just doesn't make sense to trade certain players unless the return is astronomical. We have no incentive to move Thomas, and every incentive to keep a potentially elite playmaking center who will be cost controlled for a few years, so it would have to be something astronomical for him to move. Even if Pietrangelo walks, our team is better with Thomas on it for the future than with pretty much anyone else.

Obviously I'll take McDavid or Crosby but it's not like we've got the cap for those guys.

Not to sound over confident in the team, but we don’t have any glaring weaknesses. Even if Petro leaves, we have Parayko-Faulk-Bortuzzo which is definitely better than most right sides in the league. So with no immediate glaring weakness, I’d pick a center or an elite defender on an ELC. Guys that come to mind are Petersson or Dahlin. Off ELC? MacKinnon, Barkov, Draisaitl, McDavid, Eichel, Matthews, Chabot maybe.

Is it really fair to put Thomas in such a high category? I don't think his prime will ever be that good. It's certainly a reach... delusional for sure.

I kinda have him in the same category as Suzuki, Glass and Vilardi... strong 2C upside with moderate top line potential. Thomas leads that pack, but not enough to break into the next category.

I asked that question to try and find a comparable that would also balance a glaring need. I do think it's fair to say that the Blues don't have a glaring need, but there's no way Thomas carries that much value in any world.

My argument isn’t that he’ll be as good as those players, but that since we don’t have a glaring need and he’s on an ELC, those are the players I’d move him for, franchise players. I think he has a ceiling of Backstrom or O’Rielly. Guys who aren’t big goal scorers but are great playmakers and play good two way games.

And to be fair, I’m not as familiar with Glass, Suzuki, and Vilardi as I am Thomas. They could definitely turn out better, but I think Thomas is good enough to center Tarasenko if the playoffs come back.