The New York Rangers have acquired star forward Vladimir Tarasenko and depth defenceman Niko Mikkola in a blockbuster trade with the St. Louis Blues.
St. Louis received forward Sammy Blais, defensive prospect Hunter Skinner, a conditional first-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, and a fourth-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft in return for the Russian.
Tarasenko, who is in the final year of an eight-year contract, waived his no-trade clause to join the Rangers and arrives in New York with fifty percent of his $7.5 million salary retained by the Blues.
TO NYC HE TARASENK-GOES! 🗽
The @NYRangers have acquired Vladimir Tarasenko and Niko Mikkola from the @StLouisBlues for Sammy Blais, Hunter Skinner, and two draft picks! #NHLTradeDeadline pic.twitter.com/RiuiSmHlOM
— NHL (@NHL) February 9, 2023
“He’s obviously an elite scorer, terrific player,” Rangers general manager Chris Drury said. “We felt like acquiring a top-six scoring winger was something we needed.”
Tarasenko has 29 points (10 goals, 19 assists) in 38 appearances this season, which increases his career tally to 553 points (262 goals, 291 assists) in 644 regular-season games.
The 31-year-old also boasts a wealth of playoff experience and played an instrumental role in the Blues’ run to the Stanley Cup in 2019.
Vladimir Tarasenko, now of the New York Rangers (Image: NHL)
“It’s something we’ve been looking at for a while and when the pieces started to come together, I didn’t really see any reason to wait,” Drury said of the trade. “It certainly gives the two new players a little more time to acclimate to our group. There’s still a few weeks before the deadline but we’re excited to be able to do it now and get them in the lineup but tomorrow.”
New York Rangers acquire Vladimir Tarasenko: Trade Analysed
Vladimir Tarasenko is a savvy acquisition for the New York Rangers, who have been on the lookout for forward help for a while.
The Russian is a confident play-driver, with the perfect combination of size, speed, and skill to make an impression in the postseason.
He is a natural fit to join Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad on New York’s top forward line, with powerplay minutes also likely to come his way.
Tarasenko has taken an offensive step back from last year's renaissance, but he should still be a terrific scorer for the Rangers. Love the potential fit with Artemi Panarin 🥵 pic.twitter.com/9w03DZAZl5
— dom 🕰️ (@domluszczyszyn) February 9, 2023
New York should be thrilled with this deal,
They acquired a star forward, with serious salary retention and an extra roster player, in exchange for a late first-round pick in this year’s draft, a fourth-round pick in next year’s draft, and two players who are seriously out of form.
However, the Blues shouldn’t be too sour about this either.
The 2023 NHL Draft is stacked with talent, which means the pick they acquired from New York will yield a decent prospect if used wisely.
Tarasenko was also destined to part ways with St. Louis as an unrestricted free agent in the summer and was in control of his destiny with a full no-move clause.
Related: 2023 NHL Trade Deadline: Ranking top 3 available players
While imperfect, the return they received for their 2023 All-Star was probably about the most they could extract in these circumstances.
The Rangers and Blues will follow diverging paths down the stretch.
New York, who sit third in the Metropolitan Division, will now turn their attention to building form and chemistry ahead of the playoffs.
St. Louis, who have lost five straight, will focus solely on the upcoming draft.
