Michael Frolik Signs In Switzerland
After attending the St. Louis Blues training camp on a professional tryout deal, veteran forward Michael Frolik has opted to continue his playing career in Switzerland. His new team, Lausanne HC, announced a two-year deal for Frolik today.
Considering Frolik will be 35 at the conclusion of this contract, it’s likely that he’s played his last game in the NHL. If that’s the case, Frolik carved out a role for himself as an extremely solid middle-six player for a good number of years at the NHL level.
Drafted tenth overall by the Florida Panthers in 2006, Frolik broke into the league in 2008-09 at age 20, finishing tenth in Calder Trophy voting with 21 goals and 45 points in 79 games. He was dealt to the Chicago Blackhawks during the 2010-11 season, where he’d eventually win a Stanley Cup championship with them in 2013. He was a valuable depth player on that run, scoring 10 points in 23 games.
However, Frolik didn’t top 10 goals or 20 points either of the last two seasons. Signing a deal with the Montreal Canadiens last year, Frolik spent the majority of the season on the team’s taxi squad. When he was in the lineup he went pointless, tallying nothing in eight games.
But over his career, Frolik was a consistent bet to score 10-20 goals. He never really lived up to tenth overall pick potential or the expectation he set for himself early on in Florida, but still appeared in 858 NHL games, complementing it with 159 goals and 384 points.
Injury Notes: Boeser, Severson, Perron, Hoffman
While Vancouver fans are relieved to see Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes back in action after they signed new contracts to stay with the team, they’ll have to wait a bit longer to see one of their young core members debut this season. Head coach Travis Green said Friday morning that it’s doubtful Brock Boeser plays in that night’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers. Boeser has been on the shelf with an undisclosed injury since October 2. He was expected to only miss one week, but that timeline has passed and his status is now day-to-day. In his absence, it appears rookie Vasily Podkolzin will now get a look on the second line with Pettersson and J.T. Miller.
Some other injury notes from around the league:
- New Jersey Devils head coach Lindy Ruff notes that defenseman Damon Severson is progressing and could play in New Jersey’s game next Tuesday against the Seattle Kraken. The Devils play their season opener tonight, meaning Severson might only be on the shelf for one game. Severson suffered an undisclosed injury on October 4 and has been listed as day-to-day since then.
- The Montreal Canadiens could see a big free-agent addition make his debut soon. Head coach Dominique Ducharme says that winger Mike Hoffman could be ready for the team’s Tuesday or Thursday night games next week, but he’ll miss Saturday’s tilt against the New York Rangers. That’s about right on time for Hoffman, who was projected to miss four weeks with a lower-body injury suffered in late September.
- With the St. Louis Blues’ season opener looming Saturday in Colorado, they could be without forward David Perron, per the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Jim Thomas. Perron was absent from the Blues’ practice today but was seen at the facility wearing street clothes. Head coach Craig Berube called it a “maintenance day” for Perron, who’s questionable for the game with an undisclosed injury.
Blues Sign James Neal
It was a successful tryout for winger James Neal in St. Louis as the Blues announced that they’ve inked the veteran to a one-year contract. The deal is worth the league minimum of $750K.
In his prime, the 34-year-old was one of the more consistent scorers in the NHL, scoring more than 20 goals in ten straight seasons. However, as he has gotten older, his production has started to slow down. He had a bounce-back year in 2019-20 in Edmonton with 19 goals in 55 games but he wasn’t able to maintain that same level of production last season. Instead, he had just five goals and five assists in 29 games while clearing waivers and spending time on the taxi squad. Rather than keep him on their roster for the remaining two years of his contract, the Oilers decided to buy him out, paying him $1.916MM over each of the next four years for him to go elsewhere.
After being unable to secure a guaranteed contract in free agency, Neal accepted a PTO offer from the Blues who have a need for some cheap role players given their salary cap situation as they’re going to be quite close to the cap ceiling when fully healthy. He made the most of his exhibition action, scoring four goals in five games to lead the team in that department while sitting one off the league-wide lead in the preseason.
While his best days are behind him now, Neal represents a low-risk pickup for St. Louis. If he’s able to contribute some offense in the bottom six, they’ll be content with that and if he winds up struggling, they can send him to the minors (he’d have to clear waivers first) and clear the entire cap hit off their books. Neal sits six goals away from 300 for his NHL career and he should have a chance to get to that milestone at some point this season.
Training Camp Cuts: 10/9/21
With the submission of season-opening rosters due on Monday, many teams should be making more cuts today. We’ll keep track of those moves here.
Columbus Blue Jackets (via team release)
F Tyler Angle (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Josh Dunne (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Brendan Gaunce (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Carson Meyer (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Tristan Mullin (released from PTO, to Cleveland, AHL)
F Justin Scott (released from PTO, to Cleveland, AHL)
F Tyler Sikura (to Cleveland, AHL)
Florida Panthers (via WPLG’s David Dwork)
F Zac Dalpe (to Charlotte, AHL)
D Noah Juulsen (to Charlotte, AHL)
D Matt Kiersted (to Charlotte, AHL)
F Serron Noel (to Charlotte, AHL)
D Chase Priskie (to Charlotte, AHL)
Minnesota Wild (via team release)
D Calen Addison (to Iowa, AHL)
F Adam Beckman (to Iowa, AHL)
F Marco Rossi (to Iowa, AHL)
Montreal Canadiens (via TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie)
F Jesse Ylonen (to Laval, AHL)
New Jersey Devils (via team Twitter)
F Joseph Gambardella (to Utica, AHL)
Ottawa Senators (via team Twitter)
F Parker Kelly (to Belleville, AHL)
G Mads Sogaard (to Belleville, AHL)
Philadelphia Flyers (via team Twitter)
G Felix Sandstrom (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
Pittsburgh Penguins (via team release)
F Michael Chaput (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
D Juuso Riikola (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
St. Louis Blues (via team release)
G Colten Ellis (to Springfield, AHL)
F Dakota Joshua (to Springfield, AHL)
D Scott Perunovich (to Springfield, AHL)
Vancouver Canucks (via team release)
F Carson Focht (to Abbotsford, AHL)
F William Lockwood (to Abbotsford, AHL)
Team Canada Announces First Three Members Of 2022 Olympic Team
The first three members of the 2022 Canadian Olympic team have been announced, as general manager Doug Armstrong revealed to Mike Zeisberger of NHL.com that Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid, and Alex Pietrangelo have made the team. Each participating country was required to declare three players, while the full “long-list” of 55 potential names will be submitted by October 15.
Crosby is an easy choice and likely the team’s captain, after finding so much success at the head of Team Canada in the past. The 34-year-old center has won World Junior, World Championship, World Cup, and Olympic Gold (x2) throughout his dazzling career, including scoring one of the most well-known goals in Canadian hockey history at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. A three-time Stanley Cup champion, two-time Conn Smythe winner, two-time Hart Trophy winner, there was never any thought of leaving Crosby off of the team.
If Crosby is the legend, McDavid is the focus though, entering his first Olympics as the best player in the world. The 24-year-old has won gold at the World Juniors and World Championship but hasn’t been able to suit up for Team Canada at the Olympic level to this point due to the NHL not going in 2018. The reigning Hart winner, McDavid had 105 points in just 56 games last season and has already won the Art Ross Trophy three times in a six-year NHL career. There’s no doubt he will be the forward that the rest of the roster is built around, and it makes sense he would be announced at this early stage.
Pietrangelo may be the most surprising of the three, but that doesn’t mean he’s much of a surprise. The 31-year-old has his own long history of success with Team Canada, taking home World Junior, Olympic, and World Cup gold medals. He has a long history with Armstrong from their days in St. Louis and there was little doubt he would be one of the defensemen to suit up in February. Pietrangelo finished fourth in Norris Trophy voting in 2020 and has received votes for the award in seven different seasons.
The list of potential names that will be submitted later this month will include many that won’t end up going to Beijing, making the first part of this NHL season something of a tryout. Only these three have their spots guaranteed, but that wasn’t something that really was in question even before this announcement.
Training Camp Cuts: 10/2/21
It should be another busy day on the training camp cut front as teams continue to whittle down their rosters in advance of opening night. We’ll keep track of the cuts here.
Boston Bruins (via team release)
G Callum Booth (to Providence, AHL)
G Jeremy Brodeur (to Providence, AHL)
D Jack Dougherty (to Providence, AHL)
F Ian McKinnon (to Providence, AHL)
D Andrew Peski (to Providence, AHL)
F Eduards Tralmaks (to Providence, AHL)
F Alex-Olivier Voyer (to Providence, AHL)
Buffalo Sabres (via team Twitter)
D Nick Boka (released from PTO, to Rochester, AHL)
D Matthew Cairns (released from PTO, to Rochester, AHL)
D Mitch Eliot (released from PTO, to Rochester, AHL)
F Dominic Franco (released from PTO, to Rochester, AHL)
G Michael Houser (released from PTO, to Rochester, AHL)
F Mason Jobst (released from PTO, to Rochester, AHL)
F Michael Mersch (released from PTO, to Rochester, AHL)
G Mat Robson (released from PTO, to Rochester, AHL)
F Ryan Scarfo (released from PTO, to Rochester, AHL)
D Josh Teves (released from PTO, to Rochester, AHL)
D Peter Tischke (released from PTO, to Rochester, AHL)
F Brendan Warren (released from PTO, to Rochester, AHL)
Carolina Hurricanes (via team release)
F Dominik Bokk (to Chicago, AHL)
F David Cotton (to Chicago, AHL)
F Stelio Mattheos (to Chicago, AHL)
F Blake Murray (to Chicago, AHL)
D Jesper Sellgren (to Chicago, AHL)
G Eetu Makiniemi (to Chicago, AHL)
G Beck Warm (to Chicago, AHL)
Chicago Blackhawks (via Mark Lazerus of The Athletic)
G Tom Aubrun (to Rockford, AHL)
F D.J. Busdeker (to Rockford, AHL)
F Liam Folkes (to Rockford, AHL)
F Carson Gicewicz (to Rockford, AHL)
F Kale Howarth (to Rockford, AHL)
F Riley McKay (to Rockford, AHL)
F Dylan McLaughlin (to Rockford, AHL)
F Garrett Mitchell (to Rockford, AHL)
G Cale Morris (to Rockford, AHL)
D Ryan Stanton (released from PTO, to Rockford, AHL)
F Chris Wilkie (to Rockford, AHL)
F Chad Yetman (to Rockford, AHL)
Dallas Stars (via team release)
F Jeremy Gregoire (released from PTO, to Texas, AHL)
F Anthony Louis (released from PTO, to Texas, AHL)
D Max Martin (released from PTO, to Texas, AHL)
F Curtis McKenzie (released from PTO, to Texas, AHL)
F Josh Melnick (released from PTO, to Texas, AHL)
G Colton Point (to Texas, AHL)
G Adam Scheel (to Texas, AHL)
Edmonton Oilers (via team release)
F Adam Cracknell (to Bakersfield, AHL)
D Vincent Desharnais (to Bakersfield, AHL)
F Luke Esposito (to Bakersfield, AHL)
F James Hamblin (to Bakersfield, AHL)
D Philip Kemp (to Bakersfield, AHL)
D Michael Kesselring (to Bakersfield, AHL)
F Brad Malone (to Bakersfield, AHL)
D Markus Niemelainen (to Bakersfield, AHL)
G Olivier Rodrigue (to Bakersfield, AHL)
Florida Panthers (via team release)
F Karen Bachman (to Charlotte, AHL)
F Henry Bowlby (to Charlotte, AHL)
F Grigori Denisenko (to Charlotte, AHL)
G Evan Fitzpatrick (to Charlotte, AHL)
D Max Gildon (to Charlotte, AHL)
F Aleksi Heponiemi (to Charlotte, AHL)
F Logan Hutsko (to Charlotte, AHL)
F Justin Nachbaur (to Charlotte, AHL)
F Serron Noel (to Charlotte, AHL)
F Cole Schwindt (to Charlotte, AHL)
Los Angeles Kings (via team release)
F Jaret Anderson-Dolan (to Ontario, AHL)
*F Brayden Burke (to Ontario, AHL)
*D Kale Clague (to Ontario, AHL)
F Jacob Doty (released from PTO, to Ontario, AHL)
F Aidan Dudas (to Ontario, AHL)
D Sean Durzi (to Ontario, AHL)
F Samuel Fagemo (to Ontario, AHL)
*F Martin Frk (to Ontario, AHL)
D Cameron Gaunce (released from PTO to Ontario, AHL)
D Helge Grans (to Ontario, AHL)
G Jacob Ingham (to Ontario, AHL)
F Adam Johnson (released from PTO, to Ontario, AHL)
F Arthur Kaliyev (to Ontario, AHL)
F Brett Kemp (released from ATO, to Ontario, AHL)
F Rasmus Kupari (to Ontario, AHL)
G John Lethemon (released from PTO, to Ontario, AHL)
F Tyler Madden (to Ontario, AHL)
*D Jacob Moverare (to Ontario, AHL)
G Lukas Parik (to Ontario, AHL)
F Nikita Pavlychev (released from PTO, to Ontario, AHL)
D Markus Phillips (to Ontario, AHL)
F Johan Sodergran (to Ontario, AHL)
*G Garret Sparks (to Ontario, AHL)
D Jordan Spence (to Ontario, AHL)
*F Brett Sutter (released from PTO, to Ontario, AHL)
F Alex Turcotte (to Ontario, AHL)
*F T.J. Tynan (to Ontario, AHL)
G Matt Villalta (to Ontario, AHL)
Montreal Canadiens (via team Twitter)
F Danick Martel (released from PTO, to Laval, AHL)
G Kevin Poulin (released from PTO, to Laval, AHL)
New Jersey Devils (via team release)
D Jeremy Groleau (to Utica, AHL)
G Mareks Mitens (to Utica, AHL)
F Ryan Schmelzer (to Utica, AHL)
D Michael Vukojevic (to Utica, AHL)
New York Rangers (via The Athletic’s Rick Carpiniello)
*D Mason Geertsen (to Hartford, AHL)
Ottawa Senators (via team Twitter)
D Xavier Bernard (to Belleville, AHL)
F Philippe Daoust (to Belleville, AHL)
F Tyrell Goulbourne (to Belleville, AHL)
F Roby Jarventie (to Belleville, AHL)
D Zac Leslie (to Belleville, AHL)
D Vincent Sevigny (to Belleville, AHL)
G Mads Sogaard (to Belleville, AHL)
F Matthew Wedman (to Belleville, AHL)
D Colby Williams (to Belleville, AHL)
Philadelphia Flyers (via Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia)
D Quinn Schmiemann (released from ATO, to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
G Kirill Ustimenko (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
D Jackson van de Leest (released from ATO, to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
Pittsburgh Penguins (via team release)
D Niclas Almari (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
F Raivis Ansons (to Baie-Comeau, QMJHL)
D Matt Bartkowski (released from PTO)
F Jordy Bellerive (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
D Taylor Fedun (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
F Jonathan Gruden (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
D Cam Lee (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
G Filip Lindberg (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
F Kyle Olson (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
F Valtteri Puustinen (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
D Will Reilly (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
D Mitch Reinke (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
F Felix Robert (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
San Jose Sharks (via team release)
F Joel Kellman (to San Jose, AHL)
D Artemi Kniazev (to San Jose, AHL)
F John Leonard (to San Jose, AHL)
F Jayden Halbgewachs (to San Jose, AHL)
D Jaycob Megna (to San Jose, AHL)
G Alexei Melnichuk (to San Jose, AHL)
F Nicholas Merkley (to San Jose, AHL)
D Montana Onyebuchi (to San Jose, AHL)
D Brinson Pasichnuk (to San Jose, AHL)
Seattle Kraken (via team release)
*G Antoine Bibeau (SEA)
*D Connor Carrick (SEA)
*D Cale Fleury (SEA)
F Luke Henman (to Charlotte, AHL)
*D Gustav Olofsson (SEA)
F Scott Wilson (released from PTO)
St. Louis Blues (via team release)
F Zach Bolduc (to Quebec, QMJHL)
G Will Cranley (to Ottawa, OHL)
D Tyson Galloway (to Calgary, WHL)
*F Tanner Kaspick (to Springfield, AHL)
F Mathias Laferriere (to Springfield, AHL)
D Griffin Luce (to Springfield, AHL)
F Hugh McGing (to Springfield, AHL)
*F Matthew Peca (to Springfield, AHL)
*F Nolan Stevens (to Springfield, AHL)
F Nathan Todd (to Springfield, AHL)
F Alexei Toropchenko (to Springfield, AHL)
F Keean Washkurak (to Springfield, AHL)
D Josh Wesley (to Springfield, AHL)
Vegas Golden Knights (via team release)
F Paul Cotter (to Henderson, AHL)
F Daniel D’Amato (to Henderson, AHL)
D Peter DiLiberatore (to Henderson, AHL)
F Pavel Dorofeyev (to Henderson, AHL)
F Jack Dugan (to Henderson, AHL)
F Lucas Elvenes (to Henderson, AHL)
G Dylan Ferguson (to Henderson, AHL)
D Zack Hayes (to Henderson, AHL)
F Ben Jones (to Henderson, AHL)
D Kaedan Korczak (to Henderson, AHL)
F Jake Leschyshyn (to Henderson, AHL)
F Jermaine Loewen (to Henderson, AHL)
F Maxim Marushev (to Henderson, AHL)
F Lynden McCallum (to Henderson, AHL)
D Ian McCoshen (released from PTO, to Henderson, AHL)
D Daniil Miromanov (to Henderson, AHL)
D Brayden Pachal (to Henderson, AHL)
G Jiri Patera (to Henderson, AHL)
D Derrick Pouliot (to Henderson, AHL)
F Mason Primeau (to Henderson, AHL)
F Jonas Rondbjerg (to Henderson, AHL)
F Ben Thomson (to Henderson, AHL)
Washington Capitals (via team Twitter)
F Kody Clark (to Hershey, AHL)
*D Cody Franson (to Hershey, AHL)
*F Shane Gersich (to Hershey, AHL)
D Lucas Johansen (to Hershey, AHL)
F Kale Kessy (to Hershey, AHL)
*D Dylan McIlrath (to Hershey, AHL)
F Mason Morelli (to Hershey, AHL)
G Hunter Shepard (to Hershey, AHL)
F Riley Sutter (to Hershey, AHL)
D Eddie Wittchow (to Hershey, AHL)
*-pending the player clearing waivers
Blues Agree On Five-Year Extension With GM Doug Armstrong
5:15pm: St. Louis has officially announced a five-year extension for Armstrong. The extended term begins at the end of the current season and will see Armstrong become the longest-tenured GM for St. Louis. A member of the Blues since 2008 and the top executive since 2010, Armstrong is carving out a special place for himself in the history of the franchise.
2pm: The Blues have called a press conference for 5:00 PM CT today for what they’re describing as a “major announcement”. Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic and ESPN’s Kevin Weekes report (Twitter links) that the announcement will be a multi-year contract extension for general manager Doug Armstrong.
Armstrong has been working in an NHL front office for close to three decades now after starting out with Minnesota as their assistant back in 1992-93 before the franchise moved to Dallas. He stayed with them until being let go partway through the 2007-08 season but caught on with the Blues soon after, starting as their Director of Player Personnel in 2008-09 and being promoted to GM two years later, a role he has held ever since, making him the fifth-longest-tenured GM in the league at the moment.
Armstrong has brought in several core players to the Blues in recent years including centers Ryan O’Reilly and Brayden Schenn plus defenseman Justin Faulk through trades while inking blueliner Torey Krug and winger Brandon Saad over the last two offseasons in free agency. St. Louis has made the playoffs in all but two seasons with Armstrong at the helm with their best performance coming in 2019.
Rutherford notes that Armstrong was signed through this season with an option for the 2022-23 campaign. It appears that option will be exercised with more years tacked on or torn up entirely as part of this new agreement.
Islanders Sign Jon Gillies To PTO
The New York Islanders have announced their training camp roster and it features a few non-roster invites, but none more interesting than goaltender Jon Gillies. Gillies comes over from the St. Louis Blues as an unsigned unrestricted free agent and could actually have a shot at a contract. The other two invites are AHL Bridgeport players, veteran defensemen Seth Helgeson and Mike Cornell.
Whether it be his Providence College connection with GM Lou Lamoriello or simply his status as one of the few experienced goaltenders left available on the open market, Gillies has found his way to the Islanders this preseason and it could be a PTO worth watching. While New York has a stout NHL tandem in Semyon Varlamov and Ilya Sorokin, their depth is a concern. 35-year-old Cory Schneider was re-signed, but his 2020-21 season with the Isles resulted in zero NHL appearances and just two abysmal AHL starts. Ken Appleby was signed in April strictly for Expansion Draft purposes and he too was limited last season with just seven AHL appearances. Appleby, 26, played exclusively in the ECHL in 2019-20 as well. Jakub Skarek, 21, struggled with Bridgeport last season, while Tristan Lennox, 18, is not ready for the pros. With a strong camp performance, it is easy to see how Gillies might be able to fill a role for the Islanders this season.
A third-round pick of the Calgary Flames in 2012, Gillies was a top college goalie and NCAA National Champion with the Providence Friars before turning pro early in 2015. Gillies performed well at the pro level immediately and his early returns in the AHL and in a small sample of NHL appearances put him position to battle to be the Flames’ goaltender of the future. However, this was a competition that he would lose to David Rittich. Relegated to the AHL for the entire 2018-19 season, Gillies performed poorly and his NHL trajectory was knocked off course. With that said, he has improved in each of the past two seasons and spent much of last year on the St. Louis taxi squad as the next man up in net. At 27, Gillies still has plenty of tread left on the tires. The Islanders have experience in Schneider and upside in Skarek, but if they truly need a netminder to step in to an NHL role this season, Gillies could be their best bet – especially if he can make the most of his PTO with a strong camp performance.
Blues Acquire Logan Brown
Logan Brown‘s desire for a fresh start is well-known and he has gotten his wish. The Senators have sent the center along with a conditional fourth-round pick in 2022 to St. Louis in exchange for winger Zach Sanford. The draft pick will not transfer if Brown plays in 30 regular season games with the Blues this season. Both teams have confirmed the deal.
Brown was a first-round pick of Ottawa (11th overall) in 2016 but despite showing flashes of upside in the minors, he has yet to establish himself in the NHL. He had nine points in 13 AHL contests with Belleville last season but only got into one game with the Senators in 2020-21 and has just 30 career NHL appearances over his three professional campaigns. The 23-year-old recently re-signed a one-year, two-way contract worth the league minimum of $750K and will be a restricted free agent against next summer.
As for Sanford, he has been a capable depth scorer for the Blues over the last few seasons, notching at least eight goals in each of his three full seasons in St. Louis. Injuries to other forwards allowed him to play a bigger role in 2020-21 as he logged nearly 15 minutes per game in ice time (a career high) while collecting ten goals and six assists in 52 contests. The 26-year-old is in the final year of his contract that carries a $2MM AAV and Sanford will be an unrestricted free agent next summer.
The key to the trade from St. Louis’ perspective is the cap space. The move allows them to get back into salary cap compliance as they were projected to be over the $81.5MM Upper Limit before the swap. If Brown pans out, he will be a cheap roster piece for the Blues and if he can’t crack the roster, they’ll get the fourth-rounder for Sanford’s services. As for the Sens, Sanford should be a nice addition to their bottom six forward group. As they look to get back into the playoff picture this season, he’ll be a useful veteran on a young team and if they’re out of the mix by the trade deadline, Sanford is someone that could be flipped to a playoff contender.
Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch was the first to report that the two teams were finalizing a trade for Brown.
Vladimir Tarasenko Fully Healthy, Taking Part In Training Camp
It’s day one of the on-ice portions of training camp around the league and at the St. Louis Blues skate, there is a participant not many expected just a few months ago. Vladimir Tarasenko was lining up alongside the recently-signed Robert Thomas and newcomer Brandon Saad in the team’s second group after months of speculation regarding a trade request. The veteran winger wasn’t dealt and has deemed himself fully healthy after suiting up for just 34 total games over the last two seasons.
Speaking to reporters including Lou Korac of NHL.com, Tarasenko made it clear that he’s completely committed to the Blues as long as he’s a part of the team:
Everything is good. My mindset is good. It’s good to be with the guys. I have good relationships with the guys. It’s been a weird summer, but it’s going to stay between us (and) between me and Doug. I’m here to work. As long as I’m here, I will work for 100 percent.
In the past, the NHL has seen a few players give less than full effort as they try to navigate a trade request, but it appears as though the 29-year-old won’t fall into that category. He’s keeping the details of his trade request private for now and going about his business as if it never happened.
Still, it did happen, and there will be speculation around Tarasenko’s future all season. The Blues managed to get everyone signed this summer without going too far over the cap and should be able to open the season under the $81.5MM upper limit even with Tarasenko’s $7.5MM on the books. If he is healthy, something that certainly hasn’t been proven to this point, he could once again give the Blues an elite goal-scoring option to go along with the rest of their deep forward group. Tarasenko scored at least 33 goals in five consecutive seasons before multiple shoulder surgeries kept him off the ice more than on it.
Remember, Tarasenko still holds many of the cards when it comes to a trade. He has two years remaining on his contract and holds a full no-trade clause, meaning he dictates which teams are possible destinations. The fact that he’s earning $9.5MM in actual salary this season certainly would be a deterrent for some clubs that are still dealing with financial ramifications from the last year, but when that number drops to $5.5MM in 2022-23, it certainly will become a lot more palatable. Even if there is a trade in the future, it appears as though Tarasenko is present, healthy, and ready to help the Blues for the time being.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images