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Wednesday, March 14, 2001
Blues will love Tkachuk
By Barry Melrose
Special to ESPN.com
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It has been clear for some time: the team that landed Keith Tkachuk was going to be the winner in that particular deal. Michal Handzus is going to be a great young player, but he's never going to be a 50-goal, 100-plus points power forward. This is a great trade for St. Louis.
The Blues get an elite forward to complementPierre Turgeon. Their power play immediately gets better, and they don't hurt themselves because Handzus has been injury prone. At the moment, Handzus isn't an integral part of the Blues' team. St. Louis gets a top player they will probably be able to sign without losing an elite player in return.
Phoenix gets four young players and relieves themselves of the burden of Tkachuk's salary. Financial concerns have been plaguing the Coyotes and this move gives them the flexibility to do more. When he's healthy, Handzus is great, and they get a good young player in Ladislav Nagy. Plus, there is the potential for more quality young talent: Jeff Taffe was St. Louis' first-round selection last year and a first-round pick in this year's draft. Phoenix wasn't dealing from a position of strength -- dollars were dictating decisions. They did the best they could but had to give up one of the best players in the NHL.
Even without this deal, St. Louis was competing to come out of the Western Conference. Now, the ability to put Tkachuk and Turgeon up against opponents will be unbelievable. But there still isn't a favorite to win the West. Detroit, Colorado and St. Louis are all great teams. San Jose is very good, experienced Dallas has been to the Stanley Cup Finals twice, and Edmonton -- who just won eight in a row -- might be playing better than any of them right now.
There is a lot of power in the Western Conference. What was shaping up to be a great Stanley Cup Playoffs just got better.
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ALSO SEE
Blues go big: Tkachuk acquired for three players
Tkachuk warms up to new reality
No deal means Lindros' season over
ESPN.com's NHL Trade Tracker
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