The St. Louis Blues are an interesting team to watch for. They have made some interesting decisions to boost their club. Despite losing Ville Husso and missing out on landing Matthew Tkachuk, who ended up becoming a Florida Panther, the Blues still remain a playoff contending team. They did extend Nick Leddy while also adding Thomas Greiss and Noel Acciari in free agency. After ultimately capturing the Stanley Cup in 2019, the Blues have only won one playoff round. The team has already lost former captain Alex Pietrangelo and a current member could also be on the way out. Vladimir Tarasenko could be involved in a trade.
Vladimir Tarasenko Could Be A Trade Chip
Rumour: Jeremy Rutherford from The Athletic discusses the possibility of Vladimir Tarasenko being traded
Vladimir Tarasenko could be involved in a trade. It is not the first time that his name has been brought up. In fact, his name has been floating around since they became champions. But could he be on the move? What do the Blues get in return?
Tarasenko Statistics
Despite all the trade chatter, Tarasenko had his best statistical season last year. In 75 games played, he scored 34 goals, 48 assists (career high), and 82 points (career high). He was a point-per-game player for the Blues. After suffering two injury-riddled campaigns that limited him to suiting up in 24 total games, this is a nice comeback for the player.
Doug Armstrong said Vladimir Tarasenko will have shoulder surgery next week and won’t be re-evaluated again for five months. #stlblues pic.twitter.com/Ewhvtkn4YR
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) August 26, 2020
Tarasenko has hit the 30-goal mark five times and scored 40 once in 2015-16. For his career, he has played 606 games and scored 252 goals, 272 assists, and 524 points. He comes with playoff experience and has notched 60 points in 90 games. During the championship run, he had 17 points in 26 games. An illustrious career he has had and still has good hockey left in the tank.
Vladimir Tarasenko Trade Value
Jeremy Rutherford discusses other trades around the league as comparables. For instance, the Vegas Golden Knights gave away Max Pacioretty to the Carolina Hurricanes for practically nothing, and Oliver Bjorkstrand got shipped off to the Seattle Kraken for two draft picks. When a player has a high cap hit, it becomes harder to move, and you have to do what you must do to move it.
While Tarasenko is a great talent and can provide scoring in the lineup, the return may not be as high as it once was and not be nearly as much as you would think. The team has already struggled to trade defencemen, Torey Krug. According to Cap Friendly, Tarasenko has a cap hit of $7.5 million and is a free agent after next season.
Is He Worth Trading?
It is as simple as Doug Armstrong could trade him for as much as he can get or keep him and his production and let him walk away for nothing as the season ends. As the Blues are a contending team, he boosts the lineup and makes the team better than worse. When healthy, he is one of the more premiere snipers in the league and has a thing for scoring goals. The team could use all the ammunition at its disposal if they want to lift the Stanley Cup again.
