After the St. Louis Blues won the Stanley Cup in 2019, they have been waddling their way into mediocrity and a grander sense of non-existence in the larger scope of the NHL. They did the thing and it was nice and emotional, but since then it’s been just shedding some contracts and trying to stay at least somewhat competitive with the talent they have locked up there.
Most recently, former All-Star winger Vladimir Tarasenko wants his way out of St. Louis and it’s no secret — like, at all. He has gone through some hellish injuries and just wants a brand new start in a new organization that isn’t riddled with some medical complaints, like requiring to do a second shoulder surgery because the first one wasn’t good enough. Not ideal.
But anyways, Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic reported earlier this week that the Flyers are most likely on Tarasenko’s list for teams he would be okay getting traded to.
Tarasenko has given the Blues a list of at least 10 clubs to which he can be traded, and we think we know a majority of those: the Rangers, Islanders, Golden Knights, Bruins and Flyers we reported previously, and you can add the Lightning, Capitals and Panthers to that list. – The Athletic
Even earlier, a trade package surrounding center Morgan Frost and defenseman Philippe Myers was hypothesized by the same reporter as some complete guesswork for what the Flyers would need to give up to land the former 40-goal scorer. It’s not ideal and doesn’t really deserve any deep, thoughtful analysis for what it would mean to give up to young players for a raggedy, broken once-elite winger.
Tarasenko is a shadow of his former self, or at least that is what he has displayed on the ice during his limited time there. The 29-year-old has only played in 34 games the last two years, scoring 7 goals and 24 points through them, but still carrying tons of risk that might be unnecessary for a Philadelphia team already carrying some hefty contracts and needing to re-sign some franchise players in the near future.
Of course if Jakub Voracek leaves via trade, and someone like James van Riemsdyk gets swiped up by the Seattle Kraken next week, then that leaves tons of room to take a risk and buy low on the top-tier forward. With just two years remaining on his contract that holds a $7.5-million cap hit, it might be a nice little boost to a team that could potentially lose some of their top-six wingers.
If the dominos fall in that direction, then Tarasenko might be someone to bank on as a key addition during this significant summer for this damn team.
Turns out some players would actually love playing in Philadelphia, compared to what other outlets might think.
