To Deal or Not to Deal: Blues Forward Vladimir Tarasenko

With the NHL off-season underway, trade rumors are ramping up. Will the Blues seriously consider moving franchise cornerstone Vladimir Tarasenko?

Over the last two NHL off-seasons, all eyes in St. Louis are on forward Vladimir Tarasenko. One of the franchise’s cornerstone pieces over the several seasons put in a trade request last off-season and it has been a roller coaster ride for both GM Doug Armstrong as well as St. Louis Blues fans. Tarasenko is without a doubt a fan favorite, being one of the longest-tenured Blues currently on the roster, and being an important piece to the 2019 team that hoisted the Stanley Cup just a few years back.

Blues General Manager Doug Armstrong has been very positive about his relationship with Tarasenko even dating back to last season when the team’s primary alternate captain had his trade request made public via his agent. When asked about number 91 potentially not returning to St. Louis for the 2022-2023 season during his end-of-season press conference. Armstrong was once again very positive about keeping Tarasenko in a Blues sweater.

"“I’m not concerned about Vladi for next year at all.”"

The Blues are currently in the midst of yet another Stanley Cup window, trading the franchise’s 5th all-time points leader would definitely send some shock waves throughout the organization, and certainly send mixed feelings through fans’ heads after the team was two games away from defeating the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Colorado Avalanche in the playoffs. Trading the team’s leading point scorer from the past year certainly would not be seen as a popular move, but is trading Tarasenko really such a bad idea?

In my first article with Puck Prose I am starting a brand new series called “To Deal or Not to Deal” with the premise being quite simple. I will be going over various names that are in the current trade pool and going over the pros and cons for that team if they were to deal that player. Let’s get started!