With the dawn of a new season, the New York Rangers will be looking to try and capture another Stanley Cup. After a breakthrough season for a young team last year, expectations are high for the Blueshirts this year. While the team is expected to be fighting for the division title as well as going deep into the postseason again. That doesn’t mean that the Rangers’ current iteration is the same as the roster that will be pushing forward this postseason.
Just glancing at the roster makes it clear that the Rangers will need help, especially on their right wing. People have been talking about a future Hockey Hall of Fame player from Chicago, but there might be another option if you look south of the Windy City. In the Gateway to the West, there’s one player that has been rumored to be on the way out of that organization for a long time.
That player is of course Vladimir Tarasenko. His dispute with the St Louis Blues is still unresolved. He wants out, but St Louis does not want to move the Russian sniper, and for a good reason. Guys like this are hard to replace. However, this is a hockey club that is run well and has a great grasp of asset management and Tarasenko is one of the players who will have their deals expiring this summer.
Then, I asked Tarasenko if he still wanted to be traded:
— Jim Thomas (@jthom1) September 30, 2022
He said: "For real, you asking me this on the first day? ... I'm not going to answer it. This can go both ways. I'm focused on the season now and I'm excited to be here, that's it."
Tarasenko had asked for a trade out of St Louis last year, but nothing came of his request. Things may change rapidly when the 31-year-old put up 82 points in 75 games last year. While his value is as high as it has been in a while, things are never this simple. If there were no strings attached to the Stanley Cup Champion, he would not be in St Louis at this moment in time.
Unfortunately, the show-stopping winger has a long list of lingering ailments and it is how St Louis mistreated his injuries that have made Tarasenko seek greener pastures. St Louis has not had anyone meet their asset valuation for the player, which is still debated. Reports have said a young roster player and a 1st round pick, but there have been many contradicting reports from verified sources.
Tarasenko has been viewed as one of the better goal-scoring potential pickups. His shot has been one of the better ones in the league for a few years, and can still be the difference maker that a team seeking a championship needs when it is chasing Championships. The consensus on Tarasenko is that he will make any team he is on better, and the dominating right-winger should improve the Rangers.
His 252 career goals and 272 career assists in 606 NHL games are a great example of what Tarasenko is. He’ll produce at an incredible rate when he’s healthy, but it’s when he’s healthy that there is an issue. He’s missed more than half of 2 seasons previous to this most recent one, and his health has become concerning.
For the Rangers, he would be a major improvement on the right wing when he is in the lineup. The issue that will face the Rangers is his cap hit. He’s in the final year of his contract paying him $7.5 million against the cap. With St Louis eating 50% of that deal, it’s $3.75 million. Not exactly an easy number to simply absorb.
As for the cost of assets for the valued winger, I’d have to imagine it is somewhere around a first and a young roster player, or even a couple of prospects. St Louis doesn’t have any glaring issues that need urgent fixing so it depends on how the two General Managers view things. It would be an interesting deal, but my question for you remains simple: does this help the New York Rangers?