After 11 seasons with the St. Louis Blues, Vladimir Tarasenko is off to Broadway and joining the New York Rangers, along with defenseman Niko Mikkola, in exchange for a conditional 2023 first round pick, a conditional 2024 fourth, Sammy Blais and prospect Hunter Skinner according to Stephan Whyno for the Associated Press.
According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet the Blues will also retain 50% of Tarasenko’s salary as he lays out the conditions of the picks sent to the Blues.
In his 11 seasons with the Blues, Tarasenko played in 644 games putting up 262 goals and 553 points and was a crucial member of the 2019 team which won the franchise’s first Stanley Cup, as he put up 17 points in 26 games.
While Tarasenko might not be the player he once was as a consistent 65+ point player between 2014 and 2019, as injuries have played a huge part on some of Tarasenko’s regression, but last season he put up his best numbers so far potting 34 goals and 82 points, a career high in points for him.
While he has seen a regression on 5v5 points this season, perhaps playing alongside the likes of Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanajad will see him return to form, as well as also giving those players a huge boost as he would most likely be taking first line winger duties from Jimmy Vesey.
As the Rangers rank 17th in Power Play Percentage, he will undoubtly slot in on one of the two lines making them a hypothetically much more dangerous threat.
The Rangers currently sit third in the Metropolitan Division with 66 points and 10 points back of the division leading Carolina Hurricanes, as they are looking to gain ground in the division and secure a spot in the 2023 playoffs.
BD Sports 