New Jersey Devils: 3 Acceptable Vladimir Tarasenko Trades
The New Jersey Devils have been tied to St. Louis Blues sniper Vladimir Tarasenko for most of the offseason. It’s possible he’s been on his no-trade clause, but after the signing of Dougie Hamilton, the Devils might look a little different in the Russian’s eyes. It’s clear the Devils are looking to shed years of failure as Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes get closer to their primes.
Tarasenko isn’t exactly the guarantee he was two seasons ago. After the 2018-19 season, he was coming off five straight 30-goal seasons with a minimum of 60 points each campaign. He was one of the best scoring wingers in the league.
That just isn’t where his value is anymore. After two seasons dealing with major shoulder issues, Tarasenko’s value is that of a flier. He might be cooked. It’s more likely that he can bounce back, but there is at least a chance he is never the same. Teams are taking that into account when making offers to the Blues. They can’t ask for a top prospect and a 1st-round pick. Blues GM Doug Armstrong would have moved him already if he got even a decent offer.
The reports are the ask is high, and if that’s true, the Devils should bow out completely. We’ve covered this part of it before. However, there is a deal that would make everyone excited for Tarasenko’s arrival. The Devils can’t give away a top prospect or 1st-round pick in a Tarasenko deal. That’s a deal breaker. They can make a move that’s a lot less risk. The Devils have a deep prospect pool, and they can use it here. It does have less depth after trading away Mikhail Maltsev and losing Nathan Bastian in the expansion draft. There are still a dozen young players who are NHL ready and about a dozen more who could make the NHL one day. The Devils could use this leverage to make a trade with the Blues work.
This is the trade I see the absolute most. It has a lot to do with Devils fans trying to get rid of Jesper Boqvist because he hasn’t lived up to expectations, but remember the same thing was happening last offseason with Michael McLeod. Now, McLeod has been a really good NHL player in the role he’s in now.
So, there is an inherent risk in sending Boqvist to the Blues, but it’s clearly not a risk not worth taking. Boqvist has a limited ceiling in the NHL unlike a player like Alexander Holtz. Don’t get us wrong, Boqvist could still be a really good player. The Blues probably see the potential that’s there. Boqvist came to the Devils, tried to learn the North American style of play, played for three different head coaches, and tried to play during a pandemic when the team dealt with an outbreak.
Boqvist shows how good he is when he turns it on in the AHL. There are times when he looks like the best player on the ice despite the AHL team being a tire fire at times. He has a dynamic skill set the Blues will want. The 2nd-round pick in a really good draft would work as insurance in case there is an issue with Boqvist’s game. He had his issues in the NHL, but he’s only 22 years old, so there is a lot of growth he still has to do. The Blues would gladly watch him grow under their watch.
If the Blues want multiple kicks at the prospect can and if the Devils aren’t looking to lose anymore 2022 NHL Draft picks, then this is a deal that could make a lot of sense for both sides. Tyce Thompson is the best piece in the deal despite Nikita Okhotyuk technically being the highest draft pick of the bunch. The value Thompson brings is that of a winger who was sent directly to the NHL after he signed following his season with Providence College. He was really good in the NCAA, averaging more than a point per game over the past two seasons. He struggled in seven NHL games, but last year was a weird season and he jumped right from college to the pros. He’ll be much better this season.
Nikita Okhotyuk has a weird future here in New Jersey. The Devils traded for Ryan Graves and Jonas Siegenthaler in the past few months, which both play a shutdown type game similar to what Okhotyuk brings to the table. It seems like the Devils went all out to build the defense from outside of the organization. Okhotyuk is a luxury the Devils could lose, but it could add to the Blues prospect pool as someone who could make an impact in a few years.
Matthew Hellickson is just an extra put into this scenario. The Devils probably don’t have high hopes for the former Notre Dame defenseman, but he had some flashes in college. Maybe the Blues feel like Hellickson has the ability to do something in the NHL one day. It’s a long shot, but the Blues are already getting one really good prospect and a decent prospect. Hellickson is just an extra.
The New Jersey Devils made a bold move last offseason getting Andreas Johnsson from the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for Joey Anderson. Anderson was a pretty good prospect who could play an energy role, but the Devils went with the upside from the scoring Swede in Johnsson. In his first season in Jersey, Johnsson was not very good. His underlying numbers aren’t terrible, but he just didn’t have the impact the Devils hoped.
He is clearly an NHL player and he comes with a 20-goal season under his belt. Last year was pretty bad for a lot of players. Johnsson was trying to live in a new place, learn a new system that asked a lot of its players, and get to know an entire locker room of new talents. It wasn’t exactly an easy situation.
The Devils don’t want to just throw Johnsson away after the Seattle Kraken allowed them to keep him. However, the Devils can give the Blues the prospect of getting a quality NHL player who’s younger than Tarasenko. He might not have the ceiling of Tarasenko, but he doesn’t come with the injury history and he would actually want to be there.
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This might be a little too small a package to get the job done, but it’s probably the only NHL-ready forward the Devils are willing to give up. They would be able to take on all of Tarasenko’s $7 million salary in this deal, giving the Blues roughly $3.6 million in cap space. It’s not a perfect deal by any means, but the Devils aren’t looking to take this risk at a high price.