St. Louis Blues Vladimir Tarasenko Narrative Makes No Sense

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St. Louis Blues right wing Vladimir Tarasenko (91)Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports /

When it comes to professional sports, things are rarely what they seem. For St. Louis Blues fans, the news that

wants out came suddenly.

However, the reality is this may have been boiling for some time. As good as some of the reporters covering the team are, St. Louis is not a media hub, so it’s easier to keep things under wraps for longer.

We have no clue how long the discord between Tarasenko and the team has been brewing. As talented and lovable as he can be, he’s temperamental and has clashed with the coaching staff on other occasions.

Yet, there is something about this current situation that just does not make sense. So much discussion is going on in the online space, but little of it makes sense. Basically, any way you slice this problem, it makes little sense.

The only thing that does make sense is the initial report. We have no reason to distrust anything Jeremy Rutherford reports.

Unlike some media members in larger markets, he’s not trying to be sensational for the sake of clicks and throwing out baseless ideas. He’s merely reporting what he was told from a source.

I believe Rutherford. That doesn’t automatically mean we should believe Tarasenko will be traded. Likely, he will, but let’s look at this situation, discuss some of the topics seen on social media and how none of it makes sense.

Medical staff

There’s an odd back and forth with this. On the one hand, fans who are ready to show Tarasenko the door somehow feel incredulous that he would dare question the doctors who performed his surgeries.

One Facebook post went so far as to suggest medicine had reached it’s pinnacle and Washington University doctors were all but beyond reproach. Funny enough, one of the responses said they had surgery done with a doctor who was on the Blues medical staff at the time and they were still recovering from the botched procedure.

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These people are humans. I don’t believe a doctor goes into any procedure without the best intentions, but nobody is perfect 100% of the time. Pro athletes are a perfect example. We demand they be “on” all the time, but they’re a human with talents. Sometimes, those talents aren’t there the way they were the previous time.

However, the counter of that is with Tarasenko. If he did not feel comfortable with his treatment the first time, he should have made it more known then. Seek out another opinion or ask to have a different doctor do the surgery.

Don’t do whatever the team wants and then complain about it later. The patient needs to do what they feel is in their best interest.

He’s physically done

When you see social media posts where the poster proclaims Tarasenko is finished, you need to question their sanity. He’s 29 years old and still in the prime age range of his career.

Those that say he’s injury prone are only using a weak proclamation to steer their misguided argument. Prior to the shoulder injury, Tarasenko had missed 10 games combined the previous four seasons. 10 games out of 328 regular season games. Yet, few consider Jaden Schwartz injury prone despite him missing 10 games or more each of the last four seasons.

Those that say his production has been too inconsistent are kidding themselves and, again, looking to prove what they already believe. Before getting injured, Tarasenko had three goals in 10 games in 2019-20.

That would average out to about 25 goals, which is only slightly less than his normal and he’s always been streaky, which would likely push him past the 30 goal plateau. So, we’re basing the idea that he’s washed up on 24 games.

24 games after not playing for almost two years is enough to decide a 30-goal scorer is done? Sorry, but no.

Everyone assumed Jay Bouweester was finished and he simply had not properly healed from his hip surgery. He regained his form and skating ability when health and was the Blues best pure defender during the 2019 playoffs.

Don’t listen to fans that think players are done in general. Montreal fans thought Patrick Roy was finished in 1995. He went on to win two more Cups. Alex Ovechkin was done several years and he had no chance of winning a Cup and then he did. Wayne Gretzky was washed up and still scored almost 200 points in his last three seasons.

Robin Lehner had shoulder surgery and was considered one of the better goalies down the stretch for Vegas. Scott Perunovich had shoulder surgery, but I guess he better just give up on the NHL since he must be washed up too? Nonsense.

If Tarasenko is healthy, the Blues better not even consider trading him within the Western Conference. He will light them up.

He doesn’t play Blues hockey

Firstly, this notion of what Blues hockey is has become as disconcerting and unnerving as “The Cardinal Way”. Both are concepts invented within the last decade.

As a franchise, the Blues and Cardinals have expected certain amounts of effort from their players, much in line with a more blue-collar city. However, to think there is only one way to play and all must adhere to that or they are banished from the franchise is nonsense.

Brett Hull never played “Blues hockey” in terms of what we think of today. People will say, but he scored a lot of goals. Well, in today’s NHL, scoring 30 goals per season is about as good as it gets and Tarasenko scored 30 or more in five consecutive seasons. Maybe that gets him a pass? Not with Blues fans, apparently.

Additionally, this idea that he doesn’t play physically is made up. Tarasenko doesn’t go out looking for bone-crushing hits, but he plays the body.

In fact, Tarasenko has become a more physical player once Ken Hitchcock left. It’s funny because Hitch continually asked more from the player and the Blues finally got it when the coach was gone.

After the coaching switch, Tarasenko went from just over 30 hits per season to over 80. He had 30 hits in 24 games, when his shoulder would apparently never be the same.

Tarasenko had 28 hits during the team’s run to the conference final and then 50 hits in the Stanley Cup championship playoff run. While only credited with two hits against Colorado in 2021, Tarasenko was constantly mucking it up along the wall, which was even more noticeable because several of his teammates were not doing that.

There have been clashes and differences of opinion between player and coaches, no doubt. There has not been anything Tarasenko has been asked to do that he has not.

The captaincy

Let it not be said that this entire issue is Tarasenko being in the right. If the captain’s “C” is still an issue then he’s being a baby and needs to get over it.

Not every captain has the same style and there is no one style that is so much better than the other. You have boisterous, exuberant captains that are a sheer force of will, you have some that lead purely by example and you have some that seem quiet, but have a presence about them that compels others to them.

The problem Tarasenko had, publicly, is nobody outside of the locker room knows how he is in the locker room. To most fans, there’s no reason to believe he would be a good leader.

He doesn’t like public speaking or talking to the media, both of which are big aspects of being captain. He gets agitated at certain types of questions, the types he would be asked even more when he had to do media sessions 82-plus times a year.

Tarasenko seems well liked by most Blues players, but he did not seem to have that presence. Giving him the “C” would have been more a reward for service as opposed to pushing the team in the right direction.

Most people that have worked long enough have been passed over by someone not with the company as long as yourself. It sucks and it hurts. That doesn’t mean you were the best person for the job and it doesn’t mean you don’t continue doing your job as best you can.

Whining about it won’t help and neither will causing division within the team, as happened when Alex Pietrangelo was named captain and Alex Steen and his friends did not like it.

I get being disappointed, but not being named captain just because you were here longer is a childish thing to throw a tantrum over.

Power play problem

One notion going around is that Tarasenko has not been happy with his usage. I can’t say that’s false, but it makes little sense.

When he’s been healthy, he’s always been in the top six and you could argue his line was usually considered the top line. So, where is this misusage coming from?

The only likely place is on the power play. Even then, Tarasenko usually got top power play unit minutes.

So, the only frustration would be where he is asked to be on the ice. If this is the case, Tarasenko needs to get over himself.

Blues fans have been frustrated for YEARS about Tarasenko being on the point, aka the blue line, during power plays. No other team in the NHL that pops to mind puts their most potent scoring threat so far away from the goal.

The only thing close was watching Nathan MacKinnon and Steven Stamkos play near the point on their respective power plays. However, those teams have so many options and both players are playmakers as opposed to pure scorers.

As fans, we figured this had to be some nonsensical coaching maneuver. Later, we found out Tarasenko apparently prefers to be at the point. One can suppose he sees himself as the quarterback of the thing.

It doesn’t matter and it doesn’t make sense. His passing is good, but not quick enough to avoid the pressure. His shot is one of the quickest in the NHL, but it’s not the hardest.

You need hard shots from that distance. Tarasenko wrist shots have no chance of scoring from 50 feet, or more, unless there is heavy traffic. More often than not, there was not heavy traffic.

If not being on the point upset him that much, it needed to be explained better. Michael Jordan, one of the greatest basketball talents ever, had no intention of playing the triangle offense. Phil Jackson found a way to explain the benefit to Jordan and the Chicago Bulls won six championships afterwards.

Regardless of who put him at the point, it was never the right spot for him. If he wanted to be there, the team needed to do a better job of explaining why he needed to be elsewhere. If the team wanted him there, then several different coaches need their heads examined since he’s been playing at the blue line for three different ones now.

Who replaces the scoring

If you ask someone this question and their response is “anyone”, don’t even engage in conversation. They need to be checked into a mental hospital.

Even if you argue Tarasenko is physically diminished, he’s still capable of 15 goals, at the very least. No, 15 goals is not worth $7.5 million, but Jaden Schwartz‘ production is not worth what he earned and yet we’re talking about if he gets a raise. It’s pro sports.

Regardless, the fact remains that the Blues need scoring. You cannot give away a player who will provide at least 15 goals and has the potential to score 30 or more and expect to easily replace that. Additionally, the Blues are at a point where they need to add scoring, not just replace it.

In a perfect world, you need Tarasenko’s 30 goals and also someone from the outside to score so you’ve improved your totals, not just evened out whatever you already had.

Some will say Jordan Kyrou will step up and maybe he will. As talented as he is, he doesn’t strike any scouts as a 30 goal scorer, so there’s still production that needs to be replaced. Also, since St. Louis is such a baseball town, they should know that continually needing career seasons from your team in order to be competitive is not a sustainable plan of action.

The harsh truth is there is not a lot of scoring available unless Doug Armstrong pulls a rabbit out of a hat. Not to be the bearer of bad news, but Gabriel Landeskog is not coming to St. Louis.

Matt Tkachuk is not coming to St. Louis, at least not this offseason. Tkachuk has debunked the trade request rumors on his end and Calgary said they have no intention of dealing him. Landeskog likely stays in Colorado and if he leaves, it’s going to be for more money than the Blues need or can be spending.

Bring back Mike Hoffman? Offensively, I’m OK with that, but don’t hide behind this pretention of “Blues hockey” then. Hoffman is more defensively lax and motivatingly challenged than Tarasenko ever was.

Free agents or trade

Most people bring up the cap space when being in favor of a Tarasenko trade. This actually does make sense from the fan perspective, but not as much for the team, mostly based on us not knowing their intentions.

Trading a star is a risk, no matter the circumstances. It rarely works out well for the team that is giving up the proven commodity.

Did The Blues provide enough support

When I ask a question about the team providing enough support, don’t take it as questioning the entire roster. When you assemble a championship team, clearly you put together some talent.

However, for years, Blues fans have agreed that Tarasenko needed a number one center to help him out and set him up more. The problem was they never truly did that.

The team brought in Paul Stastny, one of the better playmakers at the time. He rarely played with Tarasenko.

St. Louis brought in Braden Schenn, which has been a fantastic acquisition. Schenn and Tarasenko clashed at first, making the pairing seemingly undesirable, but the team kept going back to it.

The Blues picked up Ryan O’Reilly, one of the best all around centers in the game. Again, how many games has he consistently played with Tarasenko?

O’Reilly rarely played with him. Schenn has moved back and forth between different lines and even different positions as he was used on the wing. Unless on the power play, Tarasenko and Stastny almost never played together.

Many hoped Robert Thomas could be a top center for the team. He never really got a look with the team’s best wingers, so we may never know if he could have formed something special with Tarasenko.

The Blues have brought in some good talent, but never paired it with Tarasenko for long. Maybe that’s a cohesion problem with Tarasenko or maybe it’s a problem with the staff. We may never know.

What are the Blues thinking?

Last, but not least, we do need to question how it even got to this point. Personally, I have never been one that thinks stars need to be catered to, but I do believe a player of Tarasenko’s caliber deserves respect.

We’ll never truly know whether he’s been given that respect or not. This will always be a he said, she said situation and fans will pick their sides.

I’ve seen several social media posts talking about how disrespectful it is for Tarasenko to play this out in the media. That’s nonsensical since Rutherford’s source was supposedly from the team and we’ve not seen a single quote from Tarasenko on the matter.

It’s hard to know specifically if anyone is or can be blamed. It seems to be a lot of hurt feelings based on things that just happen.

Tarasenko should not have been made captain. However, perhaps he did deserve to be approached by the team as to why he would not be captain before it was announced.

Maybe the team did mishandle the injury situations. We’ll never really know, so it’s hard to say Armstrong should have done this or Tarasenko should have done that.

What feels clear, is that this did not come out of nowhere. While the Blues did not need to kowtow to Tarasenko at any point, the discord has to have been brewing long enough that the team could have handled it before it reached this point.

Tarasenko does not seem to be a prima donna, so how do you go from Stanley Cup champion to demanding a trade from the only NHL franchise you’ve ever known in such a short period?

Maybe this has been brewing for a long time and the team never gave the respect to the man, regardless of public appearance. Tarasenko made repeated pitches to the front office to sign Artemi Panarin before Chicago signed him. I understand not wanting to just give someone’s friend a job, but how foolish did the Blues look when that guy hit the ice in stride in the NHL? That could have planted the seeds we are seeing grow now.

Even if that was not it, what has Armstrong or Craig Berube been doing the entire time If Tarasenko was pouting in the corner? Call him a baby if you want, but there had to be avenues to smooth things over prior to all this.

This is not an overnight happening. If you think back on Tarasenko’s final press conference after the 2021 season, he seemed to be thanking those that had supported him as though he knew something big was about to go down.

Maybe it’ll work out one way or another. Perhaps Tarasenko will stay and it’ll all be good. Maybe he’ll get traded, never return to form and the Blues will have dodged a bullet.

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I fear it will not work out. I fear this trade will happen and Tarasenko will regain his form and make us all look foolish. It’s happened plenty of times before and we seem to be returning to a normal Blues way of things and that would fit right in.

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