ST. LOUIS — Vladimir Tarasenko has asked the St. Louis Blues for a trade, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press on Thursday.
The Blues declined comment when asked about Tarasenko’s trade request, which was first reported by The Athletic. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the request was not made public.
Tarasenko is a five-time 30-goal scorer, but injuries have limited him to just seven in 34 games the past two seasons. He has undergone three shoulder surgeries in three years, most recently a second operation on his left shoulder last fall.
The 29-year-old Russian winger who helped the Blues win the Stanley Cup in 2019 has two years left on his contract at a salary-cap hit of $7.5 million.
Tarasenko is a homegrown member of the Blues after they drafted him in the first round in 2010. He has 218 goals and 223 assists in 531 regular-season games, all with St. Louis.
But his value has shown through in the playoffs. Tarasenko scored 10 goals and added six assists during the Blues' 2019 run that ended in the franchise's first Stanley Cup championship.
When Tarasenko wasn't fully healthy in the 2020 bubble playoffs, the defending champions struggled and bowed out to Vancouver in the first round. He missed the start of this past season while rehabbing from his latest surgery but was still productive after returning March 6 and finished with 14 points in 24 games.
___
Follow AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno on Twitter at https://twitter.com/SWhyno
___