Adam Proteau writes about the Vladimir Tarasenko trade, Jaromir Jagr scoring his 1,099th career professional goal and Rasmus Andersson.
Welcome to Screen Shots, a continuing feature on THN.com in which we take a look at a few hockey topics, and break down our thoughts on them in short bursts. This edition discusses Vladimir Tarasenko, Jaromir Jagr and Vladimir Tarasenko. Let’s get to it.
The big news Thursday broke early in the afternoon when the St. Louis Blues traded star winger Vladimir Tarasenko to the New York Rangers, along with D-man Niko Mikkola, in exchange for a conditional first-round draft pick this summer, a conditional fourth-rounder in 2024, forward Sammy Blais and defensive prospect Hunter Skinner.
The Blueshirts weren’t exactly hurting for offense – when they win, they win big, as in their past 10 wins, they’ve scored four goals or more eight times. Then, when they lose, they tend to lose by a single goal – but the addition of Tarasenko is a huge boost to the offensive potency of likely linemate Artemi Panarin.
And, perhaps just as importantly, it keeps Tarasenko from being moved to one of the Rangers’ Metropolitan Division rivals in New Jersey and on Long Island. The Rangers are in win-now mode, and this deal, even if it's a pure rental for pending UFA Tarasenko, represents a big-time vote of confidence from GM Chris Drury.
Meanwhile, from the Blues’ perspective, this is a smart move from GM Doug Armstrong to move on a deal he liked for a player he knew he couldn’t keep around after this season. He got a valuable first-rounder out of this deal, which many teams are loathe to give up, especially for a rental solution.
Veteran center and fellow looming UFA Ryan O’Reilly is next to be moved out of St. Louis, and it may take until the March 3 trade deadline to actually get O’Reilly dealt, there’s now no question Armstrong recognizes that he needs to retool and maximize his assets for soon-to-depart players.
As for Tarasenko, he leaves a championship legacy in his St. Louis career, but it was clearly time for the two parties to part ways. This is a fair deal that benefits both teams, and it helps set the market for the players still to be moved by the deadline.
Three cheers to future Hockey Hall-of-Famer Jaromir Jagr, who scored his 1,099th career professional/international hockey goal this week when he netted his third goal and 11th point of the season with the Czech Extraliga’s Kladno team to break the record held by icon Wayne Gretzky, who generated 1,098 career goals in his outstanding career.
Jagr, who will turn 51 years old in about a week from now, has numbers that are all the more impressive when you consider he didn’t play full seasons in the NHL after the league’s trio of lockouts. He’s a freak of nature in the best sense, and if this is his final season, he’s going out with his head held high, and his career numbers putting him among the sport’s all-time greats.
Finally, we wish Calgary Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson a quick recovery after he was struck by a vehicle while crossing a road in Detroit Wednesday.
Andersson was riding a scooter, and he was at a crosswalk when the vehicle struck him. It could’ve been a far more serious situation than it’s fortunately turned out to be.
Indeed, this is a reminder that NHL players are no different than any of us when it comes to accidents, either automobile-related or otherwise. We’ve all slipped on a patch of ice, or up (or down) a flight of stairs, or simply smacked our noggin off a door or the edge of a table. Teams go to such great pains to keep them healthy, and it’s amazing they don’t require players to walk around inside a giant fluffy bubble.
It’s understandable why teams do whatever they can to protect their players – the financial investment in their bodies is real and spectacular – but Andersson’s injury underscores the fact that injuries to athletes can happen at any time, in countless ways.
Here’s hoping his “day-to-day” designation means he can get back to what he enjoys doing on the ice after a safe and full recovery, as he currently has a career-high points pace with 34 points in 51 games. Treliving rightly said the team will take his recovery “real slow,” and Andersson will miss Thursday’s game against the Red Wings.