Should the Rangers pursue Vladimir Tarasenko?
The Blues star forward has reportedly asked for a trade. As the final game of the Stanley Cup Final was playing out in Tampa, big news came out of St. Louis. Blues superstar forward Vladimir Tarasenko has asked for a trade, and St. Louis is actively looking to facilitate a deal. The Athletic was first to report the demand. Tarasenko, 29, has two years remaining on an eight-year, $60 million contract ($7.5 million annual average value); a full no-trade clause kicked in two years ago. According to the report from The Athletic, Tarasenko is upset with the teams handling of his shoulder surgeries in 2018 and 2019  his first two of three such surgeries, which were both performed by Blues physicians  and feels theres no trust left between him and the organization.  This past summer, Tarasenko changed agents. He is now represented by Paul Theofanous, who also serves as agent for Rangers forward Artemi Panarin. The Rangers were mentioned among the potential destinations for Tarasenko. The two obvious reasons: his close relationship with Panarin and Theofanous having worked with the Rangers previously with Panarin. Now that Tarasenkos demand is public  and with the player having a full no-trade clause  the Blues have little leverage. So the cost to get a potentially elite offensive player could be more reasonable than, say, Jack Eichel. According to CapFriendly, the Rangers have almost $24 million in cap space heading into the offseason. However, the Rangers have to come to terms with a number of key restricted free agents including Filip Chytil. The Rangers also need to think about their long-term future. The more significant season on Tarasenkos contract is the final one; the Rangers have significant players potentially hitting free agency after the 2021-22 season. Adam Fox, Kaapo Kakko, Alexandar Georgiev and Vitali Kravtsov are restricted free agents in 12 months. Fox, especially, is going to be a critical contract to get done; he just won the Norris Trophy and is the teams (leagues) best defenseman. Health concerns  The other issue the Rangers need to be wary of is Tarasenkos injury history if theyre going to pursue him. Tarasenko had three surgeries performed on his should in a 28-month window. The ligament damage from the first injury was not corrected in either of the first two operations, which were performed by Blues team physicians. The failure of those procedures are at the heart of Tarasenko wanting out of St. Louis. Given the Rangers financial considerations in the coming two offseasons, New York would need the Blues to either retain significant salary (not out of the question) or move a relatively bad contract back to St. Louis in the deal. The problem: the Rangers dont have what you might consider a bad contract to send back. Indeed, they only have seven NHL roster players under contract for the 2022-23 season at this time. They should at least inquire because of the potential Tarasenko brings to the table. But they shouldnt push the issue. They have more important concerns internally than adding an injured star nearing his 30th birthday.