Confirmed with Link: Tarasenko 50% & Mikkola to NYR for 1st RP, 4th RP, F S. Blais, and D H. Skinner

[rumrokh]

Hopefully he gets better as a Ranger but obviously Tarasenko was why we made the trade. Actually I do not even know why we traded for this Dman. We have 6 and had Halek as a 7th. Maybe Halek wanted out.

Somebody Mikkola's size and skating ability will always be attractive to some GM's and coaches. If they can get him to simplify his game and they have a structure that helps him reliably clear the zone, he'll be an asset.

 

[Thallis]

The kind of teams that would trade for a rental like Tarasenko are in most cases going to be in the late first range so I'm not sure what the gripe is there. Perfectly happy with a first for our rental winger who requested a trade 2 years ago and a 3rd for our 3rd pairing D. Everything else doesn't really matter.

 

[Majorityof1]

Ugh

I'm more of a Mikkola fan than most. He is a big LHD who is actually a good skater. He likes to pinch and can create plays while also getting back, but he has very little finish so not much comes of it. He is really good on the defensive side of things. He is a good enough skater to not get beat wide, he is physical and good at covering the net and blocking shots. He has played solidly at times on our shutdown defensive pair with Parayko playing against the other teams top lines. The downside is he is not great at transitioning the puck, and neither is Parayko. So that pairing falls a part a bit when the other team hems them in our zone and causes them to make mistakes. Blues fans take that as Mikkola being awful. But used correctly with a partner who can beat pressure, he can be a good bottom/middle pair shutdown guy.

 

[NickyFotiu]

I'm more of a Mikkola fan than most. He is a big LHD who is actually a good skater. He likes to pinch and can create plays while also getting back, but he has very little finish so not much comes of it. He is really good on the defensive side of things. He is a good enough skater to not get beat wide, he is physical and good at covering the net and blocking shots. He has played solidly at times on our shutdown defensive pair with Parayko playing against the other teams top lines. The downside is he is not great at transitioning the puck, and neither is Parayko. So that pairing falls a part a bit when the other team hems them in our zone and causes them to make mistakes. Blues fans take that as Mikkola being awful. But used correctly with a partner who can beat pressure, he can be a good bottom/middle pair shutdown guy.

Thanks. That sounds much more optimistic!

 

[Spektre]

He was instrumental in bringing a Cup here and that along with a lot of great moments will be how I remember him as a Blue

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

 

[bleedblue1223]

Watch Blais score a hat trick in his first game back.

 

[Bobby Orrtuzzo]

I like trade in a sense it was inevitable he was leaving….but this still sucks.

Farewell, sweet prince

 

[LetsGoBooze]

The kind of teams that would trade for a rental like Tarasenko are in most cases going to be in the late first range so I'm not sure what the gripe is there. Perfectly happy with a first for our rental winger who requested a trade 2 years ago and a 3rd for our 3rd pairing D. Everything else doesn't really matter.

This. I'm happy with the move. I find it fair value. We can't fleece them every time.

 

[bleedblue1223]

And I don't mind getting Blais to potentially keep as a cheap 4th liner next season. Should be better than some of the random guys we've had there this year.

 

[joe galiba]

The kind of teams that would trade for a rental like Tarasenko are in most cases going to be in the late first range so I'm not sure what the gripe is there. Perfectly happy with a first for our rental winger who requested a trade 2 years ago and a 3rd for our 3rd pairing D. Everything else doesn't really matter.

to further this, only teams that are trying to win that same year trade for rentals, so they will always be a low end 1st, teams with a high 1st do not need a rental

 

[PJJJP]

Watch Hunter Skinner turn into a decent defensemen just because something has to go wrong when the Rangers trade with the blues

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

Would be funny if Blais comes in, plays great for 2 weeks, and we flip him for another pick.

 

[joe galiba]

Watch Hunter Skinner turn into a decent defensemen just because something has to go wrong when the Rangers trade with the blues

in Arizona after he is traded for Chychrun

 

[Majorityof1]

Over all, I am a bit dissapinted in this trade but glad we at least got a first out of it. First, I'll miss Tarasenko. It needed to happen but I am a Tarasenko fan. I also liked Mikkola. Again, it probably needed to happen but I think he is better than most Blues fans think and good value for his contract.

The return is underwhelming. Knowing the first will be the lower of 2 kills any excitement that the Rangers will go cold and give up a pick in the early 20s. I like Blais and glad to have him back, but he has less value than when we traded him. His injuries seemed to have curtailed his upside as he doesn't seem to have any goal scoring touch now. Skinner is a contract dump. Don't even call him a prospect. He wasn't listed in Wheeler's top 15 Rangers prospects, and they were a bottom 10 prospect pool. We basically got a late first for Tarasenko, a 3rd for Mikkola and a couple of contracts to even it out for the Rangers.

Still, despite all that, at least we got a first and at least we are making moves. I'd rather trade him now for this, than risk not being able to get a deal done. I'd assume depsite wanting a trade, Tarasenko was picky about where he would waive to go. If the Rangers weren't bidding against anyone else, than it is a good job for Armstrong to even get this much.

 

[Novacain]

I guess my takeaway from this trade is indifference. It’s not bad value, and a 1st is great in theory, but I think Dallas is the best team in the West right now and have a good shot to go to the finals, which would make that pick as low impact of a 1st as possible. I can’t really complain about it, but there isn’t much spice here except getting it done early might lead to a better draft pick now because boy our roster is pretty rough right now.

Overall, it’s like a B-/C+ trade for me. It’s fine.

 

[Stealth JD]

And I don't mind getting Blais to potentially keep as a cheap 4th liner next season. Should be better than some of the random guys we've had there this year.

Blais is 100x better than Pitlick, Walker, Brown, Toropchenko, and more fun to watch than Leivo.

 

[joe galiba]

I just don't get were people expect the range for a 1st in a trade for a rental to actually be

Blais is 100x better than Pitlick, Walker, Brown, Toropchenko, and more fun to watch than Leivo.

for the 5 out of 20 games he is healthy

 

[Novacain]

Blais is 100x better than Pitlick, Walker, Brown, Toropchenko, and more fun to watch than Leivo.

The Blais we used to have, sure. That Blais never played for the Rangers.

 

[Davimir Tarablad]

I’m fine with the deal. Not overly excited, but not overly disappointed either.


It’s odd that Skinner is a soon to be 22yr old and has spent his last 3 seasons split between the ECHL and AHL.

 

[Brian39]

Hopefully he gets better as a Ranger but obviously Tarasenko was why we made the trade. Actually I do not even know why we traded for this Dman. We have 6 and had Halek as a 7th. Maybe Halek wanted out.

I haven't seen a ton of Hajek, but I definitely think that Mikkola is a better bottom pair or #7 D man than Hajek or Harpur is. He's decent enough as an every day player and is really good injury insurance. I'd expect him to be your #3 LD moving forward. He's not a huge acquisition, but you can never have too much depth on the blueline and I'd be much more comfortable with him plugging an injury hole than the rest of your depth D.

 

[Majorityof1]

I’m fine with the deal. Not overly excited, but not overly disappointed either.


It’s odd that Skinner is a soon to be 22yr old and has spent his last 3 seasons split between the ECHL and AHL.

Skinner got caught with no place to go when the OHL cancelled a season during Covid. So he went to the ECHL on a contract with the ECHL team. The Rangers owned his rights but he wasn't in their system, he was playing on an ECHL contract. Just this year, the Rangers gave him a contract and promoted him to the AHL. So it might not be all bad. It's still not much. Its telling they didn't sign him and bring him up sooner.

 

[STL fan in MN]

I’m fine with the deal. Not overly excited, but not overly disappointed either.


It’s odd that Skinner is a soon to be 22yr old and has spent his last 3 seasons split between the ECHL and AHL.

It’s not “odd”. It simply means to me that he was essentially a near nothing throw-in that gets a guy off of NYR’s books.

 

[Ranksu]

So no Finn's anymore in NHL team. So I guess I'm out of here.

 

[STL fan in MN]

Sort of hilarious the Blues get Blais back in the deal. 0 goals in his 2 seasons with the Rags. I’m calling it now - Blais will score at least 1 goal within his first 5 game back in the Bluenote.

It’d also be funny if the Blues claimed Hajek off waivers.