Tarasenko to undergo shoulder surgery

[StL Dan]

Crap

[theohall]

just saw the scroll on NHL Central. Tarasenko out 5 months. Left shoulder surgery.

In other words, he gets back in mid-March or early April. Basically misses the rest of the regular season.

[gaijin]

Damn, this sucks. Schwartz better get his turnaround started like right now.

But when he finally comes back, it will be like making a trade, right?

[StL Dan]

This will obviously cause the Blues to further galvanize the personnel they currently have in StL and provide an even better chance for younger player(s) that are up and coming down in SA to have an impact going forward.

I'm actually looking forward to watching how the team adjusts. If there is a team in the league that can absorb this type of loss and still find a way to produce, it's the Blues.

**What is the latest on Steener? IIRC, he left the game early in the Detroit game and didn't return. I may have missed any updates.

[Robb_K]

Damn, this sucks. Schwartz better get his turnaround started like right now.

But when he finally comes back, it will be like making a trade, right?

It will be BETTER than just making a trade (which they WILL do). Tarasenko is expected to be ready to play roughly, about thr end of March, at best. If that times out right, The Blues may be able to add a high-quality forward for the season by using Tarasenko's LTIR relief Cap reduction for that, and simply activate Tarasenko for the first game of the playoffs, thereby getting an extra high-salaried player for the playoffs, as there is no Salary Cap restriction once the regular season is over, and players returning from LTIR are eligible to be added back to the active roster.

So, in addition to bringing up Kostin, and Kyrou (when he's ready), I would look into trading for a high-quality scoring winger. (Taylor Hall?)

[glen a richter]

I thought Kostin would replace a tired and worn out Steen or perhaps a fragile Fabbri, but not Tarasenko. Well, let’s see what the depth is made of I guess. This sucks.

[theohall]

Kostin isn't coming up any time soon. He still isn't turning the corner at the AHL level, in spite of his good preseason. Kyrou is still recovering from his knee issue and has yet to play a game, which includes zero pre-season games.

Right now, the most likely call-up is Nathan Walker to fill in the bottom 6 role with Thomas moving up into the top 6. There isn't anyone ready in the organization to step up to anything even close to Tarasenko's level. In terms of roster composition, both in San Antonio and St Louis, in combination with the heavy regular season schedule the next 6 weeks, this was the worst time the Blues could afford to lose someone of Tarasenko's caliber. The counter to that is Tarasenko should be back for the playoffs as long as this team steps up and gets there.

The Blues are capable of playing the style of play which can dominate opponents, even without Tarasenko, as long as the team commits to playing the slow, defense first, denial game and letting the offense come from the turnovers that generates. They smothered Boston this way in Game 7 of the Finals once they got that first goal. They just need to have the right mindset to play that way until someone steps up and even partially fills Tarasenko's shoes.

[glen a richter]

About now it’s a shame about trading Bokk because if Army intends to use LTIR relief and make a trade then the system will definitely thin out. No one is trading with the Blues out of sympathy, whether it’s for Hall or Kreider or whoever. Other GMs smell a team with a need, we can kiss some decent prospects goodbye for a one year rental. I say roll with what’s in the farm . Give them all a chance.

[theohall]

About now it’s a shame about trading Bokk because if Army intends to use LTIR relief and make a trade then the system will definitely thin out. No one is trading with the Blues out of sympathy, whether it’s for Hall or Kreider or whoever. Other GMs smell a team with a need, we can kiss some decent prospects goodbye for a one year rental. I say roll with what’s in the farm . Give them all a chance.

[JCShutout]

I expect the Blues to wait awhile to see how the kids do, and if they make a trade, I expect it will be more for a Bozak type of player, but who is in the final year of a deal. Someone who is really a third liner, but might be an okay 2nd liner when surrounded by good players. I don't suspect a guy like that will cost more than a 3rd plus a mid tier prospect.

If we were offering Bozak at next year's deadline, wouldn't you be happy with a 3rd and a Sanford/Blais return?