Pucks and Pitchforks
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New Jersey Devils Offseason Spotlight: Vladimir Tarasenko

By David Holliday

Apr 7, 2021; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Blues right wing Vladimir Tarasenko (91) is congratulated by teammates after scoring a goal against the Vegas Golden Knights during the first period at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 7, 2021; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Blues right wing Vladimir Tarasenko (91) is congratulated by teammates after scoring a goal against the Vegas Golden Knights during the first period at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports /
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According to Dave Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, the New Jersey Devils are currently in a heated battle with both New York teams for the services of St. Louis Blues sniper Vladimir Tarasenko. While the Devils are in need of an upgrade, seeing big names linked to the smaller market team is surprising and they have already made the biggest splash of the summer in landing defenseman Dougie Hamilton.

Before his injury, Tarasenko had five straight seasons with 66+ points, and at least 33 goals. He even broke the 40-goal plateau once. Putting that kind of a forward on the Devils’ top six, especially alongside Jack Hughes, would be impressive. He is like many players that we have covered still young enough that he wouldn’t normally be slowing down and he would bring some veteran leadership further bolstered by a Stanley cup win.

Tarasenko is an incredibly skilled forward, but after the last two years and shoulder surgery, it is a risky move and if this is a bidding war the case can be made that the biggest loser could be the team that wins it. Over the last two seasons, Tarasenko has played a combined 34 games which is obviously not good but with 7 goals and 24 points in that time it really does not look like, when healthy, that he took a step back.

If it comes to a bidding war however this is not something to break the bank on and the Devils are still a team building, not a contender. A 1st-round pick is something that I would not be willing to part with since the odds of that being a good player is so high and with superstars in the lottery the next two seasons if things went bad at least there is always that to hold on to as a fan.

Players who are almost a guarantee to make the team in the next two years should also be off the table such as Holtz and Mercer but if they were just going for a cap dump for a lesser return players like Boqvist and Stillman could be possible options. If the Devils get him cheap it could be a steal but at the very least perhaps they can up the value so one of their biggest rivals overpays in an equally big way.

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