ST. LOUIS — The relationship between Vladimir Tarasenko and St. Louis was always in a word: weird.
It ran the gamut of just about every high and low. He burst on the scene as an anointed superstar, blossomed into the Blues' best pure goal-scorer since Brett Hull, won a Stanley Cup, got hurt and saw his production decline, demanded a trade and now is on his way to New York after 11 years in St. Louis.
But when you look at the entire body of work, it's almost impossible to deny that Vladimir Tarasenko is an all-time great Blue.
I'll never forget his first game as a St. Louis Blue.
On Jan. 19, 2013, he arrived on the scene and immediately scored two goals to beat the Red Wings in his debut. It gave Blues fans a feeling they hadn't had in who knows how long. Here was a home-grown talent bound for superstardom on our team. Finally.
It was hard to escape the comparisons to another Russian-born NHL star in Washington's Alexander Ovechkin.
Tarasenko did not in fact become Alexander Ovechkin for the Blues. But that doesn't mean his time here shouldn't be celebrated.
Here are some of Tarasenko's all-time Blues ranks:
Goals - fifth (262)
Assists - seventh (291)
Points - fifth (553)
Game-winning goals - third (44)
If those aren't the stats of an all-time franchise great, I don't know what is.
Above all, Tarasenko should be remembered as one of the biggest parts of the team that finally brought a Stanley Cup home.
He scored 11 goals and tallied 6 assists in the Blues' 26 playoff games on the road to the Cup in 2019. He led the team in goals during the regular season as well.
(Oh yeah, he also facetimed Yadier Molina on the ice after Game 7 in Boston which was pretty awesome.)
Actually, every year he was able to play a full, or mostly full, season, Tarasenko led the Blues in goals.
Was there always another level fans wanted to see him reach? Sure. You'd see his talent overflow in spurts and think that he should be one of the three best goal-scorers in the league.
But just because he never reached that level of greatness, doesn't mean his tenure in St. Louis should be looked at as a disappointment. The end was not a particularly happy situation for anyone, but the body of work as a whole outweighs the bad times.
The kid from Russia who couldn't speak English when he first got to St. Louis, became one of the five greatest goal-scorers in Blues history and helped bring them their first-ever Stanley Cup. And that's a legacy to celebrate.