Making a case for why the Leafs should pursue a trade for Vladimir Tarasenko
With the recent news of the St Louis Blues once again shopping winger Vladimir Tarasenko, the question must be asked; should the Leafs make a play for the former Stanley Cup winner? More importantly, can they offer a package that makes sense? In my opinion the answer is yes and yes.
First off, lets discuss why they should. Vlad is a terrific offensive hockey player who is a point per game player this season. Yes, he is 31 years old, but he has a championship pedigree and he still has plenty of gas left in the tank.
Tarasenko has the remainder of this year and next year left on his current contract at $7.5M per season. He's a proven player in this league who has delivered in the biggest games a player can perform in. In addition, and this should be of interest to Leafs fans in specific, Vlad's St. Louis Blues beat the Bruins in a Game 7. Plus, we know he looks good in blue.
Now how can Kyle make this happen? My guess is the blue and white would have to grease a third team's palms. They'd also need to clear out some salary. If Nick Ritchie is picked up on waivers, there's $2.5M off the books. Alexander Kerfoot is another name that could draw some interest, especially since he's been playing so well this season in a top six role. I see this deal needing 3 pieces to get done.
If the Blues are keen on the idea, Kerfoot could potentially be the roster player in the deal. Aside from a roster player, the Blues are almost certainly going to get a first round pick and a prosect as the other two pieces in any deal, since Tarasenko has term remaining. Is Kerfoot, Nick Robertson and a 1st round pick enough to get it done at 50% retained? It might be, but in the event that the Blues don't want to retain $3.75M this year and next, perhaps they would consider retaining 25% if another team would come into the deal to retain 25% in exchange for a 4th or 5th round pick, much like we saw in the Nick Foligno deal.
This is all purely hypothetical, but it's a bold move that could go a long way in helping the Toronto Maple Leafs capture their first Cup since you know the rest.
