Potential Blockbuster Trade Brewing Between Islanders and Blues for Tarasenko

The Isles currently have $11million in cap space but have to announce or finalize any of their earlier signings like Kyle Palmieri, Zach Parise or Anthony Beauvillier.

Spectacular one-on-one skills, speed and deft finishing touch have helped Tarasenko earn comparisons to Hockey Hall of Fame center Sergei Fedorov. He wears No. 91 in tribute to his fellow Russian and joined him as a Stanley Cup winner in 2019, scoring 11 goals in 26 games to help the St. Louis Blues win their first championship since entering the NHL in 1967.

Tarasenko made his mark early on playing for Russia. He scored eight goals to help his country finish second at the 2009 IIHF World Under-18 Championship. Two years later. he was captain when Russia won the IIHF World Junior Championship.

As a 20-year-old in the Kontinental Hockey League in 2011-12, Tarasenko led Sibir Novosibirsk with 38 points (18 goals, 20 assists) in 39 games.

The St. Louis Blues selected Tarasenko in the first round (No. 16) of the 2010 NHL Draft and he had a debut to remember on Jan. 19, 2013. He scored on his first two shots against Jimmy Howard and the Detroit Red Wings in a 6-0 victory, joining Doug Palazzari (1974) as the only St. Louis players to score twice in their NHL debut.

Tarasenko also had five points in his first two games, tying Wayne Babych (1978) for the best start to an NHL career by a Blues rookie, and was named the NHL Rookie of the Month for January 2013 after leading first-year players in scoring with nine points (five goals, four assists) in seven games.

He had a four-game goal streak from Oct. 5-15, 2013, finished 2013-14 with 43 points (21 goals, 22 assists) in 64 games and scored team-leading four goals in six Stanley Cup Playoff games. He had a breakout season in 2014-15, finishing with 73 points (37 goals, 36 assists) in 77 games. That included his first NHL hat trick against the Dallas Stars on Oct. 28, 2014, a game he ended by scoring the winning goal in overtime.

Tarasenko got his first Stanley Cup Playoff hat trick against Devan Dubnyk and the Minnesota Wild in Game 2 of the Western Conference First Round on April 18, 2015 and scored six goals in the six-game series.

In 2015-16, Tarasenko again led the Blues in goals (40) and points (74), helping them reach the Western Conference Final; he was named an NHL Second-Team All-Star for the second straight year. He led St. Louis with nine goals and tied for the team lead with 15 points in 20 playoff games.

The following season, Tarasenko scored 39 goals, had an NHL career-high 75 points and played in his third straight All-Star Game. He had his fourth consecutive 30-goal season in 2017-18, scoring 33 times and finishing with 66 points, then made it five in a row in 2018-19, again scoring 33 goals and ending with 68 points.

Tarasenko also played for Russia at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. His father Andrei scored two goals for Russia at the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics.