feel free to overpay him

Blues likely pass (unless they have a Landy hidden up their sleeve or something, that is).

Blues aren't interested. Maybe if the player was Foote or Wood they'd be interested.

Boqvist instead of Thompson

Then keep him. You're not getting a top prospect or a quality roster player like Wood for Tarasenko with no cap retained.

A middle/bottom 6 guy like Wood is very easily obtainable. Don't act like you wouldn't have Tarasenko at even half his normal self for Wood.

Of course I'd rather have Tarasenko than Wood. But if I'm getting Tarasenko at half his normal self, I'd also want Tarasenko at half his normal cap hit - which is not what is being discussed here. That plus his injury history makes him a dicey proposition to buy. And Wood spent last season on pace for 20+ goals (which is a pace he has achieved before), while also being a physical force. He's not some replacement-level bottom-6 forward, he's actually pretty damn good. He's also on a controlled contract and will be RFA when it expires. He's valuable.

So, yeah. If the Devils are acquiring Tarasenko, it should be for a mid-round pick (maybe conditional on Tarasenko's performance) and a low-tier prospect. If St. Louis wants Wood, it's going to have to retain on Tarasenko. Otherwise, I don't see why we should take his contract, since it's a pretty sure thing that no one else is going to be taking Tarasenko's contract without any of it retained.

It won't be a low tier prospect, we're talking at least B level. But Wood for Tarasenko as the base is a great trade for both teams. As good as Wood can be, he has yet to achieve max progression. Max Domi whose value was lower than Tarasenko even got Josh Anderson. Granted, Domi was younger but he was a problem. If NJ doesn't want to trade Wood, I completely understand that, but value wise Tarasenko at half his overall talent is worth the same as Wood even with the cap hit.

And I think Tyce Thompson is fair. He's a good prospect, who had an excellent college career and projects to reach the NHL level. Him plus a conditional pick makes sense value-wise. Tyce plus a 3rd, maybe a conditional 2nd based on Tarasenko's performance, is a fair trade.

It's not fair to the Blues. Thompson was mediocre in the AHL. Blues don't need another forward,let alone a mediocre one. Wood and a 4th is fair.