The lengthy awaited announcement has lastly come. The Calgary Flames have been knowledgeable that Matthew Tkachuk is just not thinking about signing a long run take care of them and due to this fact have positioned him on the buying and selling block. For a number of years now it has been speculated that Tkachuk wished out and it’s now official.
There could also be hypothesis as of to the place he will likely be shipped off to however I actually assume the is just one clear possibility, the St. Louis Blues. The Flames are solely going to get one thing value whereas for Tkachuk if he’s keen to signal long run with the staff. St. Lous is claimed to suit the invoice as Tkachuk grew up in St. Louis and his Dad, Kieth, performed for St. Louis. The following query could be, do the Blues want his service? I imply, who couldn’t use a participant of his caliber? He produced over 100 factors final yr and performs a really bodily recreation. His Offensive output could be nice for a Blues staff that simply misplaced David Perron and his bodily play makes him match completely within the cycle scheme that the Blues run.
All the things appears to be lining up, however who would the Blues be keen to surrender? Properly we have to take into consideration that this acquisition would put the Blues over the wage cap so a big wage wants to return to Calgary (even with the rumor of Tkachuk keen to go to St. Louis on a reduction. The Blues have three of their largest stars changing into UFAs after this season: Ryan O’Reilly, Ivan Barbashev, and Vladimir Tarasenko. I don’t see the Blues buying and selling their captain with out the necessity of a tradition change within the locker room (which they don’t want). Buying and selling Barbashev would require at the very least $5 million extra with him to return near fixing the wage difficulty, and together with his age, I see the Blues extra thinking about resigning him if he can repeat his breakout season. The plain alternative is Tarasenko due to his cap hit and the truth that he by no means rescinded his commerce request. I might see this taking place simply as a participant for participant swap with Tkachuk and Tarasenko. Each groups get an elite participant on an expiring contract that I really feel would signal long run with their new properties.
I might see the Flames wanting extra in return than simply Tarasenko and maybe turning to a distinct commerce associate that may provide extra however would Tkachuk be keen to signal long run? My reply isn’t any. I believe Tkachuk’s finish objective is to signal with St. Louis whether or not it’s through commerce now or ready til the off season and I believe the Blues could be keen to see if that’s the case if the Flames ask for an excessive amount of.
Prediction: Tkachuk for Tarasenko by the top of July.
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