NHL trade grades: Vladimir Tarasenko gives Rangers offense a boost

The trade

Rangers get: Right winger Vladimir Tarasenko (Blues retain 50 percent of Tarasenko’s salary), defenseman Niko Mikkola.

Blues get: Left winger Sammy Blais, defenseman Hunter Skinner, conditional 2023 first-round pick, conditional 2024 fourth-round pick.

Shayna Goldman: What’s going to be left for the trade deadline?

I actually appreciate teams making moves sooner than later, because this gives managers a chance to assess if the deals they make are enough to boost their team. If not, there’s some leeway to change that ahead of the deadline.

It’s the second straight year with the Rangers spicing it up after a bland offseason. So it’s encouraging to see that management does see what this team lacks and knows how to fix it. The right side of the lineup has been A Problem. Barclay Goodrow and Jimmy Vesey aren’t top-six right wingers on a contender. Alexis Lafrenière, a natural left winger, hasn’t thrived in the position nor has he been given enough time there. And the coaches clearly don’t want Vitali Kravstov that high. That’s why management had to bring in someone of Tarasenko’s caliber that the coaches would be willing to deploy.

This isn’t peak Tarasenko by any means, but last year showed what he has left in the tank now that he’s healthy. He pairs really well with an elite playmaker, can drive to the slot and has the finishing talent to finish his chances. He just needs someone to elevate his game to that point. That’s what Robert Thomas did last year, and Artemi Panarin is likely to do now. The only tricky part is going to be the Rangers’ play back in their own zone in their minutes. The Rangers, who were in the Patrick Kane conversation, were facing this same conversation had they opted for the Blackhawks winger — now they don’t have the same health concerns to worry about.

The Blues traded Vladimir Tarasenko to the Rangers on Thursday.

Tarasenko, who was ranked seventh on The Athletic’s trade board, has 10 goals and 29 points in 38 games this season.https://t.co/FM5OwW25iu

— The Athletic NHL (@TheAthleticNHL) February 9, 2023

Tarasenko also isn’t Timo Meier, but the cost of acquisition wasn’t nearly as much as it could have been. Plus, it keeps the Rangers’ long-term salary picture a bit more flexible since there are some rising costs to consider this summer. As for Mikkola, he really hasn’t shined in St. Louis but the environment may have a lot to do with that. He’s getting a new opportunity in New York, likely on the third pair, and is an upgrade over both Ben Harpur and Libor Hajek.

This really checks off what the Rangers needed this deadline, with time to spare if they have to make any further moves. The cost of acquisition from their perspective, considering the salary retention aspect of it, really isn’t that bad, either. Blais didn’t click in New York at all and they still have a 2023 first-rounder as they’ll send the lower pick between their own and Dallas’ first to St. Louis.

For the Blues, though, the deal isn’t great. St. Louis may not have had a ton of leverage given Tarasenko’s no-trade clause. But packaging assets can short-change a team, and it’s curious if that happened here. At the very least, it does show management’s commitment to tearing things down and they did get something in return for two pending unrestricted free agents. As long as this isn’t the defining move for the Blues’ deadline, it’s fine enough. There just has to be a bit more moving forward to thread the need.

Rangers grade: A-Blues grade: B-

Sean Gentille: First off, a big chunk of what makes this deal interesting is the effect it’s like to have on the rest of the market. Tarasenko is a brand-name player and an important addition to the Rangers’ lineup. Mikkola is relevant, too. We’ll get to them in a second. The Rangers didn’t lose this trade.

But at the same time, that’s a decent haul for a UFA winger and a third-pair defenseman, isn’t it? If you’re an Eastern Conference team, say, who’s interested in adding Meier, it’s not what you want to see; Meier is younger and more effective than Tarasenko, and $10 million qualifying offer aside, more likely to stick around beyond this season. You’ve got to figure this deal is going to get Sharks GM Mike Grier another asset in return, should he move Meier.

And what about another aging UFA winger? Chicago just lost the most obvious trade partner for Kane, should he end up deciding that he wants to play relevant hockey for a couple months.

Still, all things considered, this is the deal the Rangers needed to make, given their middling offensive numbers and lack of finishing talent. Tarasenko’s numbers have taken a dip, but he’s healthy enough and one season removed from the seventh 30-goal season of his career. Plus, he’s a right winger. Gerard Gallant can plug him in on a line with Mika Zibanejad and Panarin and reap the benefits. Two of the best playmakers in the game with a new running mate? Not bad. We saw what Tarasenko did last season with Thomas setting him up. The thought of him alongside Panarin in particular? Tantalizing. He’d also be a legit option for a power-play unit that could use a finisher and helps the rest of the Rangers’ forward group make sense. Now Vesey can focus on eating bottom-six minutes.

As we await more details on a Tarasenko trade, here's the story @StapeAthletic and I had yesterday about the Rangers being a good fit.https://t.co/V3dsDfDmrY #stlblues

— Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford) February 9, 2023

Mikkola hasn’t done much this season, but he’s a big, physical guy who can actually skate a bit. That’ll work perfectly on the Rangers’ third pairing.

For the Blues, this deal is about the first-round pick. Tarasenko and Mikkola were two of their pending six UFAs, and organizationally, they’re significantly more likely to turn the page than keep the band together. It should be something of a disappointment for fans in St. Louis that only one prime asset is headed back, especially given a) the retention on Tarasenko, b) Mikkola’s own inherent value and c) taking back salary in the form of Blais, a pending UFA who they already traded once. A mid-20s pick (along with a few bits and bobs) feels like the bare minimum.

Rangers grade: A-Blues grade: B-

Corey Pronman: The Rangers add to their organization by acquiring a gifted scorer in Tarasenko. Tarasenko’s offensive production is down slightly this season, but he remains an excellent player. He’s a very skilled winger, he can score goals from range and he’s a competitive forward who can create in the interior parts of the offensive zone. This is a guy who over his career has shown he can drive play, and we’ll see if he gets a boost playing with better players again. While the Rangers were always rumored to add a winger, is it nevertheless interesting to observe an organization that has used three premium draft picks in the last five years on wingers in Kravtsov, Kaapo Kakko and Lafrenière felt it was important to add more talent on the wing. Mikkola doesn’t have a ton of offense, but he’s a mobile defenseman with a lot of size who plays hard as well. He can play useful minutes at the bottom of a lineup for the Rangers.

The main part of this return for St. Louis is the first-round pick. Skinner is a fringe NHL prospect. He is a decent-sized defenseman, can make a good first pass and has a hard point shot but isn’t a strong skater or defender. He projects as an AHL player. Blais is obviously a player Blues fans are familiar with. He’s a bubble NHL forward who can play at the bottom of a lineup. He has strong skill and hockey sense but his skating limits his impact at the NHL level. Tarasenko had a great career with the Blues but given he’s having a down year, had some recent injury history and doesn’t play a premium position getting a first-round pick for the pending free agent is a positive for the Blues. Ultimately, I view this as a fair trade for both sides. Tarasenko for a late first on its face would have been rich but that the Rangers got a second useful player at a more premium position as well that the Blues retained salary in the trade tends to make it equal in terms of what the market at the deadline has historically been.

Rangers grade: BBlues grade: B

(Photo of Vladimir Tarasenko: Vincent Carchietta / USA Today)