Oilers: There is no reason to help out the St. Louis Blues
By Jim Lynch
Some news broke yesterday during the Stanley Cup Final game between Tampa Bay and Montreal. Vladimir Tarasenko wants out of St. Louis, and the Edmonton Oilers should probably just sit this one out.
Tarasenko is seemingly done in St. Louis. The 29-year-old has two years left on a contract worth 7.5 million. While that might be a nice price for a winger that is just two years removed from winning the Stanley Cup, when you consider that he has played in just 34 games over the past two seasons it might be best for Edmonton to pass on Tarasenko.
There are probably a handful of teams out there that are talking about trading for Tarasenko. He can be a game-changing winger on a lot of different rosters, but there is risk there when considering he has missed a lot of time and that he is making a lot of money. Taking Tarasenko on would kill all the cap space Edmonton is working with, and while he might be good, so are some of the team’s free agents.
St. Louis is also not going to give Tarasenko up for nothing. He is a star elite forward on their team and they are going to ask for a lot in return. If fans are upset about taking on Duncan Keith’s contract and that the Blackhawks are asking for something back in return then how is everyone going to respond with Tarasenko?
The Edmonton Oilers should stay clear of the St. Louis Blues for now.
Just because Tarasenko wants out of St. Louis does not mean other teams around the league need to make it easy on them. The team definitely needs to add some more star power, but star power that is valued at 7.5 million in cap space might not be the best move for this team.
Edmonton has Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. They have two really good elite goal scorers right there. Finding the right pieces to fit with those stars is what this off-season is all about. The team is just two or three players away from being great up and down their lineup, and those changes might cost the team some prospects, but that is all part of the plan.
Tarasenko would be a good player to target if it was the trade deadline in a year, but to consider adding a player that hasn’t done much the last two seasons would be risky. Do you think we see any star players get traded to Edmonton over the course of the next month?