https://theathletic.com/2690474/2021/07 ... -and-more/
I don't even know what to say. Yes, I have been disappointed with his performance the last few years, but I never really seriously considered he would ask for a trade. Man, my younger kids are going to cry.What is expected to be an active offseason for the Blues now has a clear No. 1 priority: trading Vladimir Tarasenko.
Tarasenko has officially requested a trade from the club, multiple sources have told The Athletic.
The right winger asked for the move earlier this offseason, and Blues general manager Doug Armstrong is currently attempting to facilitate the deal, according to league and team sources. There is no apparent timetable for a move, but the expectation is that it could happen before the start of the 2021-22 season.
Tarasenko, 29, is entering the seventh year of an eight-year, $60 million contract ($7.5 million annual average value). His full no-trade clause kicked in two years ago.
He joins a fairly substantial list of NHL stars who could potentially be changing uniforms this offseason: Buffalo’s Jack Eichel, Columbus’ Seth Jones, Washington’s Evgeny Kuznetsov, Calgary’s Johnny Gaudreau and Arizona’s Oliver Ekman-Larsson are among the names out there.
So why did Tarasenko request a trade? What are the likely destinations for him? What could Armstrong get in return? And with the protected list for the upcoming Seattle expansion draft due on July 17, is a deal imminent?
Let’s dive in …
Why did Tarasenko request a trade?
Tarasenko was drafted No. 16 overall by the Blues in 2010. He’s the second-longest-tenured player on the roster behind Jaden Schwartz. He was part of the franchise’s first Stanley Cup.
So why does he want out? According to sources familiar with the situation, he is upset with the team’s handling of his shoulder surgeries in 2018 and 2019 — his first two of three such surgeries, which were both performed by Blues physicians — and feels there’s no trust left between him and the organization.
In March, The Athletic wrote about those procedures and a third one, in 2020, which was carried out by non-club doctors at the Steadman Clinic in Edwards, Colo. The ligament damage from the first injury was not corrected in either of the first two operations, sources say, and wasn’t caught until Tarasenko was seen by the doctors at Steadman.
Furthermore, sources say that Tarasenko complained about discomfort in his shoulder before rejoining the Blues for the playoffs in the Edmonton bubble in 2020 and that he believes the club waited too long before doing additional testing.
Tarasenko appeared in four playoff games against Vancouver that postseason and left the bubble early to return to St. Louis for further evaluation. It was then that he opted to have the third surgery on the same shoulder in the span of 28 months.
After that surgery last summer, Tarasenko returned to the lineup in March and scored four goals in 24 regular-season games and two in four postseason games — both coming in Game 4 of a series sweep at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche.
There was a lot of criticism of Tarasenko’s performance last season — even within the organization — and sources say the lack of trust became a bigger issue at that point because the Blues weren’t taking ownership for the mishandling of the first two surgeries.
The team did not immediately answer requests for a comment for this story.
Tarasenko’s role was also adjusted in the playoffs, making him the Blues’ net-front presence on the power play, and that didn’t sit well with him, according to sources.
Meanwhile, there was lingering disappointment from Tarasenko after the Blues named Ryan O’Reilly as the 23rd captain in team history the previous summer. That story, which originated in Russian media, died because Tarasenko was unavailable for comment to local media until he returned to the lineup three months later, when it became a moot topic.
But sources say the lack of loyalty after eight seasons with the Blues — on top of the growing trust issues — reinforced his belief that a change of scenery was necessary.
What are the likely destinations for him?
Before we can focus on any destinations, we first have to wonder what the interest level is in Tarasenko, who turns 30 in December and has had three shoulder surgeries.
On Wednesday, The Athletic surveyed a handful of NHL general managers, who confirmed that Armstrong has quietly been shopping Tarasenko for a while. Those GMs were aware of his availability but are not interested. It’s a small sample but could be a glimpse of the difficulty the Blues can expect in trying to move him.
There has been speculation that Tarasenko’s camp has supplied the Blues with a shortlist of teams to which he’d approve a trade, but sources say the list includes as many as 10 teams.
It would make sense for Tarasenko, who switched to agent Paul Theofanous from Mike Liut this summer, to be open-minded about where he’s potentially going. If he limited the number of clubs to which the Blues could trade him, he’d be lessening his chances of getting moved.
The salary cap is staying at $81.5 million in 2021-22, and according to CapFriendly, almost half of the NHL’s teams have less than $15 million left in projected space and multiple players still to sign. Money can always be moved around to make it work, but Tarasenko’s $7.5 million AAV is no small sum to squeeze under the cap.
Another potential complication is that Tarasenko’s actual salary in 2021-22 is $9.5 million — $2 million more than his cap hit. That’s because he received a lesser amount in previous seasons, and in fact, is due just $5.5 million in actual salary in the last year of his deal in 2022-23. Coming out of a season in which NHL owners lost millions because of the pandemic, that $9.5 million salary next season might thin out the pack of suitors.
Furthermore, Tarasenko will likely want to play for a contender, and the list of those teams with limited cap space next season includes Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh, the New York Islanders, Vegas, Washington, Montreal, Toronto and Florida. They make up eight of the 16 teams that made the postseason this year, and the number is nine including the Blues.
The Islanders, who were knocked out of this year’s playoffs by Tampa Bay, have been mentioned as a possible fit. The New York Rangers, who have Tarasenko’s close friend Artemi Panarin (who is also represented by Theofanous) could be another. Would he waive his no-trade clause to play in Edmonton with Connor McDavid and company?
There could be options, but with the salary-cap constraints and lack of interest among some clubs, Tarasenko may not have his pick of the litter if he wants to be moved in a timely manner.
What could Armstrong get in return?
Well, there are two factors at play.
No. 1, in an exclusive interview with The Athletic recently, Blues owner Tom Stillman echoed Armstrong’s stance earlier this year that the club’s championship window is still open. That would suggest that the team would not be interested in trading Tarasenko for draft picks and prospects.
No. 2, the Blues may have to retain some of Tarasenko’s $7.5 million cap hit in a trade, and how much they remain on the hook for could determine the size of the return.
Do the Blues dream big and go after Calgary’s Matthew Tkachuk?
Sources say the club has interest in Tkachuk, the oldest son of former Blues player Keith Tkachuk, who is a college scout for the team. The 23-year-old may not be available now, but he has just one year left on his three-year, $21 million contract, after which he’ll be a restricted free agent and could force the Flames’ hand to trade him before he becomes unrestricted.
According to sources, it would take much more than Tarasenko to pry Tkachuk away from Calgary, and that’s if Tarasenko would even waive his no-trade clause to go to western Canada, which isn’t a guarantee.
Another possibility for the Blues is dealing Tarasenko in a cap-savings move and allowing David Perron and Jordan Kyrou to man top-six spots at right wing. There appears to be interest in re-signing Schwartz, a pending UFA, but if that doesn’t happen, the team could use the savings from a Tarasenko trade and what would have gone to Schwartz to help land a more expensive left winger like Colorado’s Gabriel Landeskog.
There’s also the option of dealing Tarasenko for a defenseman or using his cap savings to sign a blueliner in free agency.
Is a deal imminent?
The answer at the moment seems to be no, but that could change quickly.
There are just 10 days left before the Blues must submit their protected list for the upcoming Seattle Kraken expansion draft. They are expected to protect seven forwards, and if Tarasenko remains on the roster, he would likely take one of those spots.
In 2017, the Blues used one of their seven spots to protect forward Ryan Reaves and then traded him to Pittsburgh shortly after the Vegas expansion draft. That’s not a lot of time to get a trade of this magnitude done, so one would have to think Armstrong would do the same if he doesn’t have a deal done with Tarasenko before July 17.
The Blues aren’t going to trade Tarasenko for nothing, so at this point, there appears to be no rush. In 531 regular-season games, he has scored 218 goals, which ranks fifth in club history behind Brett Hull (527), Bernie Federko (352), Brian Sutter (303) and Garry Unger (292). He has 35 goals in 78 playoff games.
Though Tarasenko has had three shoulder surgeries, he still possesses one of the most lethal shots in the league when healthy. But he hasn’t been healthy, which has led to underperforming, which has led to criticism.
The relationship between the Blues and the star winger appears irreparably damaged, and those close to him say it’s time to move on.
. No matter what I still say the Kraken take Dunn if he's still available to pluck by that point.
