St. Louis Blues: 4 best landing spots for Vladimir Tarasenko
These are the four best fits for St. Louis Blues forward Vladimir Tarasenko.
As the Tampa Bay Lightning were in the midst of winning their second consecutive Stanley Cup, we were dealt with some other breaking news from the NHL on Wednesday as it was reported that Vladimir Tarasenko had requested a trade.
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Per Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic, Tarasenko has officially requested a trade from the St. Louis Blues and it sets in motion what will be a wild and incredibly busy offseason in the NHL.
With the Seattle Kraken entering the league in 2021-22, we have the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft and the 2021 NHL Entry Draft looming on the horizon, while Free Agency will take place just a few days after both events.
But one of the biggest stories of an offseason already loaded with intriguing subplots will now be the future of Tarasenko, who would no doubt be a potent weapon for most teams in the National Hockey League.
Granted, the 29-year-old has been hindered by a string of shoulder injuries over the past couple of years which has limited him to a grand total of just 34 games over the last two seasons, and there could be some concerns over his long-term durability moving forward.
However, there is no doubting Tarasenko’s brilliance on the ice when he is fully-heathy, backed up by the fact that he is just one of 30 players who have managed the pretty impressive feat of scoring 40 goals in a single season over the past 10 years.
He boasts five seasons of 30 goals or more and recorded a career-high 75 points (39 G, 36 A) in 82 games in 2016-17, while he put up 33 goals and 34 assists for 67 points in his last full healthy season in 2018-19.
Tarasenko, who recorded 17 points (11 G, 6 A) in 26 games as the Blues won the Stanley Cup in 2018-19, currently has two years remaining on his current contract with a $7,500,000 cap hit and a no-move clause.
St. Louis will more than likely need to retain a large chunk of salary to facilitate a trade given that there will be a flat cap in the NHL again for the 2021-22 season, but the Blues have some flexibility to do just that and there are four teams in particular that would be interested in adding Tarasenko to their roster…
4 Best Landing Spots for St. Louis Blues forward Vladimir Tarasenko
4. LA Kings
The LA Kings have an exciting future to look forward to thanks to a young core featuring the likes of Quinton Byfield, Arthur Kaliyev and Alex Turcotte to name just a few.
However, with veterans Drew Doughty and Anze Kopitar still on the roster, the Kings are in a position to navigate a quick rebuild and acquiring a player of Vladimir Tarasenko’s ilk would certainly accelerate the process.
If healthy, there is no doubt that Tarasenko can score 30 goals a season still and he would have plenty of young talent around him to ensure that he has the opportunities to thrive on both the power play and at 5-on-5.
Granted, the Kings did recently acquire winger Viktor Arvidsson from the Nashville Predators but you can never have enough pure goalscorers in the NHL, and LA will have the cap space to make a deal work with the St. Louis Blues, especially if Jonathan Quick is taken by the Seattle Kraken in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft.