Vladimir Tarasenko’s value is free-falling!

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 opened two days ago and still, the chatter has not intensified to get Tarasenko moving. 

Now Blues insider Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic reports that Tarasenko’s value on the trade market is decreasing as we speak and that St. Louis must trade him now. See how he puts it after speaking to a league source: 

“The source said emphatically that Tarasenko should have been traded by now and that the Blues are only further diminishing his value by hanging on to him this long.

“The trajectory doesn’t get any better,” the source said. “They shit on this guy … to their own detriment. It’s time to move him. The train has left the station.”

Tarasenko has two years left on his current contract, which carries a cap hit of $7.5 million. It does not help. 

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? 

According to Rutherford, the issue is the Blues’ asking price. 

‘There were once four teams interested in Tarasenko, and there are still at least two, but the options are dwindling after Wednesday’s signings around the league.”

Rutherford believes the Carolina Hurricanes and New Jersey Devils make sense as a destination for Tarasenko, but is is still true with his value free-falling at the moment? 

The Blues might need to lower their expectations to get Tarasenko out of St. Louis.