The St. Louis Blues aren’t protecting Vladimir Tarasenko in the upcoming expansion draft, reports The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford.
St. Louis will instead shield forward Ivan Barbashev from being selected by the Seattle Kraken, per Rutherford.
Tarasenko reportedly requested a trade earlier this month following his frustration with how the Blues handled two of his three shoulder surgeries and now no longer trusts the club.
The former star winger is under contract through 2022-23 at a cap hit of $7.5 million, according to CapFriendly.
Tarasenko excelled for the Blues during their Stanley Cup championship run in 2018-19. During that postseason, he collected 11 goals and six assists across 26 games to help St. Louis win the title. However, he’s been limited to 34 regular-season games over the last two seasons.
He’s spent his entire nine-year career with the Blues, who drafted him 16th overall in 2010.
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