St. Louis Blues Sign Vladimir Tarasenko to New Eight-Year Deal

The St. Louis Blues crossed the most important item off their offseason checklist on Tuesday morning, signing forward Vladimir Tarasenko to a eight-year contract worth $60 million.  The contract is the richest in franchise history, and Tarasenko will become the team’s highest-paid player, passing center Paul Stastny, who was signed to a four-year, $28 million-dollar deal last summer.

The 23-year-old Tarasenko, who was a restricted free agent for the first time this offseason, really broke out during 2014-15, his third season in the NHL. Over 77 games, Tarasenko had 37 goals, which tied him for fifth in the NHL, and 73 total points, which placed him 10th in the league. He also had six goals and an assist through six playoff games, including a hat trick in Game 2 of the first-round series against the Minnesota Wild. As Tarasenko progresses over the next few years, there’s a good chance that he could be among the league’s top two or three scorers, especially if he gets the opportunity to stick with his talented line mates, Jaden Schwartz and Jori Lehtera, long-term.

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According to NHL.com’s Lou Korac, Tarasenko’s yearly salaries will be weighted unevenly and will break down as follows: $8 million in 2015-16 and 2016-17, $7M in 2017-18 and 2018-19, $9.5M in 2019-20, $5.5M in 2020-21, $9.5M in 2021-22, and $5.5M in 2022-23.

Via Sportrac, Tarasenko’s signing moves the Blues’ spending up to $68,973,333, which leaves the team with $2,421,667 in available cap space. That leaves the team with a little bit of wiggle room if they want to bring back depth forwards Chris Porter and Magnus Paajarvi, though neither player looks like a certainty to return at this point.

Next: Notes and Observations from Blues Prospect Camp, July 6