ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - More details have emerged about the trade request by St. Louis Blues forward Vladimir Tarasenko. But Blues president of hockey operations Doug Armstrong says there's still an opportunity for Tarasenko to remain with St. Louis.
Armstrong spoke to media Thursday morning after the Seattle Kraken selected Blues defenseman Vince Dunn – passing on Tarasenko who was left exposed by St. Louis. Armstrong provided some information about the 29-year-old forward's situation.
LISTEN TO THE FULL PRESS CONFERENCE HERE:
Armstrong says it was two days after the season ended that Tarasenko's agent told him "it was best if we could find a different opportunity" for his player. A shortlist of possible teams was given to Armstrong, who then informed all those teams that Tarasenko wanted out.
Two months later, no deal has been struck. Armstrong says Tarasenko's stall is still waiting for him in the Blues locker room and no bridges have been burned.
"I see there is certainly an outlook where I envision him putting on the jersey again," Armstrong says. "Our responsibility is to do what’s best for the St. Louis Blues and if that means he comes back and plays for us that’s the outlook that it has.
“As of today he's a member of the Blues. (Tarasenko) has to prepare like he’s coming back to St. Louis. He has to get ready to play … He has to come back and have a great season. Our focus is to do what’s best for the St. Louis Blues.”
Related
The Athletic first broke the story of Tarasenko's trade request on July 7 and in that report, it states he was upset by the team's handling of the first two of his three shoulder surgeries in 2018 and 2019. A third surgery was performed in 2020 by non-club doctors.
"There’s no trust left between him and the organization," the story stated.
Armstrong was asked about the report on of his medical staff.
“I”m not going to get into the nuances of the he said, she said things that have been reported. A lot of the things that are coming out are so factually inaccurate it’s shocking. But I’m not going to get into that.”
You can listen to the full press conference from Thursday morning in the audio above. Other topics he discusses include:
• Believes forward Jaden Schwartz wants to test free agent market, but Blues are still in discussions
• Blues still in discussions with pending unrestricted free agents Tyler Bozak and Mike Hoffman
• Defense Robert Bortuzzo and Justin Faulk who ended the year with injuries are 100% going into this preseason
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