Arthur Staple on Twitter: The full deal: #NYR get: Vladimir Tarasenko, Niko Mikkola STL gets: Conditional 2023 1st-rounder, conditional 2024 4th, Sammy Blais, Hunter Skinner On 1st: Lower of two #NYR firsts On 4th: Becomes a 2024 3rd if #NYR make playoffs STL retains 50% of Tarasenko’s cap hit
The full deal:#NYR get: Vladimir Tarasenko, Niko Mikkola
STL gets: Conditional 2023 1st-rounder, conditional 2024 4th, Sammy Blais, Hunter Skinner
On 1st: Lower of two #NYR firsts
On 4th: Becomes a 2024 3rd if #NYR make playoffsSTL retains 50% of Tarasenko's cap hit
— Arthur Staple (@StapeAthletic) February 9, 2023
by Wm_TheConqueror
40 Comments
This is a really really solid deal for an impending UFA. I’m very happy with it and glad that Army stuck to his guns and didn’t trade Tarasenko for pennies on the dollar.
Is it just me, or is this terribly underwhelming
420 BLAIS IT!
Yuck, that return. Glad we got a 1st, but Blais and Skinner are both awful, and we had to give up another one of our trade chips.
Can someone explain to me how the conditional picks work?
Considering the NMC I’m not mad about this haul. Basically Tarasenko for a 1st & drinking buddy for RobThom.
I feel like we got fleeced here. Someone tell me I’m wrong about this.
EDIT: Ok you guys sold me, it’s not that bad of a deal. I think I’m just sad :'(
So we also basically get a 3rd unless somehow the rangers collapse
This is really solid based on the context
Mikkola has played 50 games this season, who’s supposed to step up to fill that? Blais is garbage albeit a cup winner. Gonna be real fun watching a bunch of 4th liners try to score rest of the seaeon
He’s a rental, could’ve been better but this is just about the going rate. No one is giving up huge futures for rentals unless they’re getting a superstar/getting fleeced.
Happy with the return, sad to see Vova go. That’s two null & void jerseys now 🙁
This is essentially a first for Tarasenko and a third for Mikkola which seems about right.
A first round (albeit probably low) pick in a stacked draft for a pending UFA that doesn’t want to be here is not bad. We weren’t going to do a lot better than that, especially when the player can limit where they go.
Go Rangers, I guess.
Thank god my Blais jersey is relevant again
Sammy Blais helped us win the Cup…now he’ll help us get Bedard. Blues legend imo.
I’m happy Blais is back. Dude was my favorite player when he was on the team.
Other than that? This isn’t good. I know we’re selling, I wanted to trade Tarasenko. But a low 1st Rounder for one of the Top 3 goal scorers in the league?
I’d have settled for this trade on Deadline day and said “well there probably wasn’t anything else out there.” But why today?
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. We had one actual Tarasenko. Trading for futures means you should be getting back the possibility of that player and more in the trade. An assured asset for a gamble.
There’s no gamble here. None of the pieces we acquired will be a Vladimir Tarasenko.
Today, the best player in the trade is Tarasenko. In 7 years, the best player in the trade will still be Tarasenko. We can say that with near certainty.
Again, if we had settled on this trade on deadline day? Fine, best we could do.
Oh, and then retain salary AND add Mikkola? Our defense sucks, easily the weakest position on the team, and subtracting from it is only going to make it worse.
Sorry, I’m not convinced here, and I’ve been a strong proponent of selling Tarasenko.
1st + 3rd is better. Still feel a bit underwhelmed. Wish we could’ve gotten a better prospect and forgone the 3rd
Well at least I can start saying “slammy plays from Sammy Blais” again
Blues surgeons are STL enemy #1 lol
Why is everyone shitting on Blais. Dude was an energy ball from what I remember. Great depth guy. Use the 1st round pick on a potential top liner.
As much as it might pain some, I hope that the Rangers get knocked out early. First of all, our first round pick from them is better. Secondly, it would look better for us if they paid all that just to get first rounded.
Sucks to lose Vlad. The conditional 1st rounder means no Bedard, anything short of a 1st rounder is a crapshoot at best and nothing significant to talk about. Maybe after years a 3rd or 4th rounder will turn into someone decent, but the star players you want almost always wind up being 1st rounders. 50% cap hit also sucks.
Its obvious the Blues won’t make the playoffs, its obvious there’s some sort of rebuild/long term vision in mind, but its not even an all-in gamble for Bedard so prepare for disappointment and hope for some good news in a season or three.
Rangers fan here. Think overall it’s a fair deal on both sides. I know we’re happy for sure.
One question tho, I see a lot of “Vova” to refer to Tarasenko…can someone clue me in?
We’re retaining 50% of Tarasenko’s cap? What are the conditions on the picks? That matters if we’re eating that much to dish him.
I’m sad to see them go but I’m glad we’ve got Blais for a minute.
Here’s my more detailed take on each piece in this trade. Let me preface this by saying this is only a bad deal if you sincerely believe the Blues are still in their compete now window this season. A big name being involved for not another big name tends to give some the false impression that it’s a bad deal.
-Vladimir Tarasenko: He was going to be gone at the end of the season. He’s essentially an expensive rental at this time and when you’re not competitive, there’s no reason to keep somebody like that. We basically got a first rounder in a stacked draft for him, about the best you can expect for a rental. Add in the hidden potential benefit of opening up cap space for any potential opportunities at the trade deadline this season, especially if any of our other pending UFAs are gone.
-Niko Mikkola: He’s a bottom pairing d-man and was gone at the end of the season. We basically got a low draft pick, about what you’d expect. Not a lot to say, it’s a small part of the deal.
-Sammy Blais: Likely just a cap space move for NY. He’ll be a warm body and probably be gone at the end of the season. Not part of any long term plan.
-Hunter Skinner: A guy we probably won’t hear about again after today. Just a little something extra.
Now I need a new sweater…sad day
Pretty good deal all around especially for a UFA. It is the type of deal you make when you’re getting ready to rebuild which the Blues are. Don’t know much about Skinner, what’s the outlook on him?
This makes me happy in many ways. First, Vladdy helped us to finally win the cup, and I will be forever thankful for that. Then, he demanded a trade, and I truly believe that has been a cloud over our team for the last two seasons.
Yes, he had a great season last season. However, I believe he’s been the “locker room cancer” that’s plagued our team, especially this year. For example, when he was out with his most recent injury, we won games. Since he came back, we’ve lost every single game. It’s time.
This trade allows everyone to move forward, especially our Beloved Blues. No, I don’t think we’re miraculously making a playoff spot this year. But we can build our team around our young core for the rest of this season, which makes for a very bright future next season.
Fair trade for both sides. And we don’t have to see Mikkola handle the puck/pass/anything offense related anymore!!
edit: Thank you for everything Vladdy. It’s been a great run and hope you kill it for the Rangers
Ok now trade O’Reilly and resign Barby!
Happy about this trade(NY fan). Ive been a fan of vladdy for a long time now and was thrilled when you guys won the cup. What has tarasenkos seasonally history been like since then? I can look up stats online but what Im talking about is what are his skills and how has he changed since the cup run? Other than his shot and stick handling idk anything about his defensive play, faceoffs, etc. And Im aware of his shoulder and concussion history.
Will never forget the day Vladi gave me his stick after a game in Boston 😢
The reality setting in does hurt. I have seen Tarasenko jerseys in STL for so long, it was kind of like seeing Pujols jerseys everywhere. It’s a real bummer to see him actually gone even though it was a long time coming. I wish him the best and now I will try to mentally prepare for the next domino that falls.
Fuck I was hoping we’d dish ROR and give Vova the C but I guess this is about as good as can be expected for a rental. Never wanted to see 91 in anything but blue and yellow
Random Jackets fan here. All I have to say is that if you don’t play [Vladimir’s Blues](https://youtu.be/NZuc3_kSRk4) as the background music to his tribute video then your organization is trash.
Congrats on the good haul though.
So we basically got a first and Blais for an expiring tarasenko and a 3rd + depth prospect for Mikkola. That is a win
Sammy Blais is now David Perron from Wish
The return feels light, but we’ll never know how the NTC affected it. They were never going to match what Horvat got, because Horvat is a better player. The best thing I can say about it is that it happened early enough that Vlad’s coming hot streak won’t screw up the Blues’ tank. There’s a huge opportunity cost to moving from eighth in the lottery to 12th.
One thing that comes to mind re: Hunter Skinner (which is an elite fkin name, by the way) – The Blues just hired Kevin Maxwell from the Rangers, where he was the director of pro scouting. Maybe they see something to work with there.
I’m unhappy that Vladi is gone, but I’m happy with the deal Army got for him.
Tarasenko – Was leaving as a UFA either way. The fact that he had a full NTC really limited Army’s negotiating power on this one, so I think all things considered he did a good job.
Mikkola – No way we were resigning him with Rosen and Perunovich as options on the left side. He also would’ve walked as a UFA.
1st Rd – Wish it weren’t the later of NY’s two picks, but a first rounder is a first rounder. You can always root for both them and Dallas to shit the bed i guess.
4th Rd – Likely to become a third rounder since I can’t really see the Rangers not making the playoffs.
Blais – I’m well aware he’s had a shit season in NY, but I really think his play is more conducive to Berube’s style of coaching. Either he rebounds in STL and we bring him back, or we let him walk at the end of the season. It’s a no-lose situation, and at the very least should be fun to watch him wear the Blue note again, plus I could see him being good for the locker room.
Skinner – Meh, it’s a throw-away prospect, but you never know. Maybe the kid develops better in Springfield than he did in Hartford and becomes something.