Rumour: Three-team trade needed to get Tarasenko out of St. Louis

Interesting!

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 2 years ago
Rumour: Three-team trade needed to get Tarasenko out of St. Louis
Zuma Press

It’s been weeks since we’ve learned that Vladimir Tarasenko wants out of St. Louis and that the Blues veteran forward provided his team with a list of approved trade destinations. 

Free agency came and went, and no trade took place to move the veteran to a desired destination. On top of that now head coach Craig Berube stated on air of the Cam and Strick podcast that he believes Tarasenko will remain in St. Louis and mentioned that he won’t treat him any different. 

“I expect Vladdy will play for us, and I’m gonna treat him like any other player,” said Berube. He added Tarasenko will continue to fill his role on the team. 

Berube also mentioned that the Blues will deal internally with the trade request, which prompted Andy Strickland to suggest that a third team might have to get involved if Tarasenko gets traded. 

“There’s at least one team willing to retain a portion of Tarasenko’s salary,” he said.

This is not the first time we hear of a potential three-team trade involving Tarasenko. Prior to the Seattle expansion, there was chatter that the Kraken and the Philadelphia Flyers were interested in coming together to move the veteran. However, nothing came out of this. 

Tarasenko has two years left on his current contract, which carries a cap hit of $7.5 million. It does not help. The Blues could therefore wait to move him at the trade deadline where three clubs would share portions of a player’s annual cap hit. Strickland didn’t mention which team is willing to pick up part of Taraseko’s salary, but it could be a club like the Arizona Coyotes, Anaheim Ducks or Detroit Red Wings that have plenty of cap space willing to do and are willing to let go a draft pick in return. 

It’s been a tough go for the veteran forward. Since he hoisted the Stanley Cup on Boston ice in 2019, injuries have seen Tarasenko suit up for just 34 of a possible 127 games. Which team will take a gamble with a potentially damaged-beyond-repair Tarasenko?