Why Blues are Right to Keep Vladimir Tarasenko amid Latest NHL Trade Rumors

One of the biggest moves of the NHL offseason occurred on Friday when Matthew Tkachuk was traded from the Calgary Flames to the Florida Panthers. But at one point, it seemed like Tkachuk's hometown St. Louis Blues were the favorites to land him.

According to The Athletic's Jeremy Rutherford, the Blues were one of the three finalists (along with the Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes) to acquire Tkachuk. But he ended up picking Florida as his new team.

In exchange for Tkachuk, the Panthers traded forward Jonathan Huberdeau, defenseman MacKenzie Weegar, prospect Cole Schwindt and a 2025 conditional first-round pick to the Flames. If the Blues had acquired Tkachuk instead, they likely would have parted with a similar return package.

But one player who St. Louis apparently wouldn't have traded? Vladimir Tarasenko.

Andy Strickland of Bally Sports Midwest reported that the Blues never asked Tarasenko to waive his no-trade clause so that they could include him in their offer for Tkachuk, and they also never even checked in with him to see if he'd consider doing so.

That may seem like a bit of a surprise, considering Tarasenko previously requested to be traded from St. Louis last July. However, the 30-year-old forward was never dealt and stayed with the Blues for the 2021-22 season.

It worked out for both Tarasenko and the team. In his 10th year in the NHL, he tallied a career-high 82 points with 34 goals and 48 assists in 75 games. And the Blues made it to the playoffs for the 10th time in 11 seasons.

Once St. Louis was eliminated from the postseason in the second round, general manager Doug Armstrong seemed optimistic about Tarasenko staying with the team for the 2022-23 season, which will be the final year of his contract.

"I’m not concerned about Vladi for next year at all," Armstrong said in May, per Rutherford.

With Strickland's latest report, it seems things might be better between Tarasenko and the Blues. That would be good for St. Louis because Tarasenko is a talented player who makes the team better.

So the Blues are making the right move in no longer entertaining the possibility of a Tarasenko trade. The only way they should even consider it again is if he again becomes unsatisfied with his situation.

But Tarasenko has now proved that he can stay healthy for a full season. And when that happens, he's a tremendous offensive player who can anchor one of the team's top lines.

The next decision that St. Louis should have to make regarding Tarasenko is what to do following next season. He'll be 31 when the 2022-23 campaign is over, so he'll likely still have plenty of productive years still ahead of him.

Not only is not trading Tarasenko wise, but the Blues may even want to try to sign him to an extension in the near future. Is that something he'd be open to? It isn't yet clear. However, St. Louis should at least try to make it happen.