THN.com/podcast. From The Hockey News Podcast: Who Will Win the NHL's Wild-Card Race? Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MTk1NzY1NTU2MTIzNTQzMTg4/usatsi_19584510.jpg] The trade deadline is less than a month away, and we have our first blockbuster. The New York Rangers made some serious waves on Thursday afternoon, acquiring forward Vladimir Tarasenko and defenseman Niko Mikkola from the St. Louis Blues in exchange for a conditional 2023 first-round pick, a conditional 2024 fourth-round pick, forward Sammy Blais, and prospect D-man Hunter Skinner. Roughly two years after first requesting a trade, Tarasenko now finally gets the ticket out of St. Louis he so desperately wanted, joining a Rangers team that has been yearning for a scoring winger all season long. The 31-year-old has dealt with some injury trouble this season that has kept him out of the lineup but has still managed to maintain some consistent production when healthy, currently sitting with 10 goals and 19 assists for 29 points in 38 games. A pending UFA at year's end, Tarasenko could potentially be nothing more than a rental for the Rangers, who are currently in the midst of their contention window and have lacked the scoring depth that Tarasenko now provides. To land Tarasenko without giving up either Vitaly Kravtsov or Will Cuylle is also quite the feat for Rangers GM Chris Drury, who managed to upgrade his club's lineup without shedding major roster pieces and only dealing one of New York's two 2023 first-round picks. As for St. Louis, Blues GM Doug Armstrong has now officially taken the first step on a long-overdue organizational selling spree. With the Blues well outside of the playoff picture this late into the season, moving Tarasenko seemingly acts as confirmation that the club intends to deal its stable of pending UFAs in the hopes of re-tooling their aging roster moving forward. Skinner and Blais aren't exactly blue-chip players, but they have enough value to potentially factor into the Blues' future in-depth roles. Blais returns to the team that drafted him in the sixth round of the 2014 NHL draft. Nabbing a first-round pick in the 2023 draft, deemed as one of the deepest in recent memory, is a win across the board. Stay tuned for what is assuredly bound to be a very active few weeks on the trade market.
