The St. Louis Blues star wing, Vladimir Tarasenko, has requested a trade away from the Blues organization. Since that point there has been a lot of speculation as to where the former star could end up, and where does his trade value stand.
The history between the Blues organization and Tarasenko has been shaky for the past couple seasons, but until this year, has been stable. After the announcement of the Seattle Kraken expansion draft there has been a lot of curiosity revolving around the organization on rather they should protect him or leave him unprotected. To no surprise, the love was not felt as Tarasenko ended up telling the Blues he wanted out.
After The Athletics, Jeremey Rutherford, released his intel on the matter, he then announced that the reason he wanted out was that he felt as though his injuries have been handled poorly by the organization and the medical care he received was below average. He felt as though he deserved better than what the Blues had to offer, and that they were the main cause for his health situations.
So looking forward, the St. Louis Blues are likely parting ways with Tarasenko, but what team’s are interested in him, and who would be willing to give up what the Blues would be looking for in return?
New York Islanders
The St. Louis Blues are, what seems to be, a first round exit every season. They don’t ever seem to get past the first round in many cases outside of a couple, not the Islanders. The Islanders could be looking to add a partner for young star Mathew Barzal and a young and improving core. However, what the Blues are asking for could be a little out of their price range, but could be willing to negotiate with other players and picks.
One guy the Blues could be looking to target with the Islanders, although not confirmed, is Scott Mayfield. The St. Louis native could be looking for a return to play for his home-town team, and the Blues could use a defender such as Scott Mayfield.
Vegas Golden Knights
The Vegas Golden Knights have a lot of players that they could look to trade off in hopes of getting an elite goal scorer like Tarasenko. When looking at their loss to the Canadiens, they struggled putting the puck in the goal, and that is probably in their minds throughout the off-season. They have some very good players in their forward lineups, but they could use some extra star-power going forward if their play-off performances were any consultation.
The St. Louis Blues used to hold the rights to Pietrangelo, and Reaves, not to mention that originally the Knights had Perron as well. With the Knights not having to worry about the expansion draft, they could be looking to go after someone that could help the Knights get back to the Stanley Cup. Tarasenko already had the chemistry from his time on the Blues with Pietrangelo and Reaves and the Knights seem to be a good fit for Tarasenko as well. The Knights are a elite competitor and are willing to do what it takes to fill their team with elite players and talent. With the amount of young and good players the Knights have, a trade could work out well for both sides.
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins have been mentioned as the primary landing spot thus far into trade talks, and given the need on left wing, Tarasenko makes sense. The Boston Bruins are known as a historic franchise, and a competitor every season, but need a extra push just like the Blues. With the Boston Bruins window still being open, and having $50mil in cap space, they could be looking to hit the trade block hard in hopes of increasing the level of talent, and depth, on their roster. Tarasenko would give them a left wing and a possible superstar as well. Although, some people may consider Tarasenko washed up, when he isn’t giving his all to a place and he felt disrespected he could have a big turnaround with a new team.
The Boston Bruins, after this season, are losing some valuable players that could affect them greatly. It has been reported that they are one of the front runners for Eichel, and being able to go after Tarasenko shows them that they are all in and could be willing to provide a multiple picks and young talent in return.