At the beginning of last season Vladimir Tarasenko requested a trade out of St. Louis, but a trade never developed. The Blues chose to leave him unprotected in the expansion draft as well, but the Seattle Kraken stupidly chose not to select him either.
Tarasenko has a full no trade clause so it really limits the trade partners that the Blues can work with, but two Eastern Conference teams who missed out on acquiring Johnny Gaudreau in free agency seem to be very interested in Tarasenko.
With one year left on a deal that pays him $7,500,000, it's a large cap hit to take on with the chance that he just leaves in free agency at the end of the season, but if a team believes they're close to a cup, adding this 6 time 30 goal scorer (which includes a 40 goal season), could just be what a team is looking for to put them over the top.
The Flyers are currently lacking in cap space but there has been rumours that the Flyers are trying to trade James Van Rymsdyk, so if they can sweeten the deal with some picks and/or prospects, this is a trade we can see being made.
The Islanders just hired a new coach and are looking to take the team in a new direction after missing the playoffs. With around $11 million in cap space, they can take on a contract the size of Tarasenko's but might not be willing to part with as many picks and prospects as the Flyers would be.
