St. Louis Blues sign Tarasenko to 8-year, $60M deal | Reading Eagle

St. Louis Blues General Manager Doug Armstrong announced Tuesday the club has signed forward Vladimir Tarasenko to an eight-year, million contract.

With that the Blues are just about set for the 2015-16 campaign. Let’s bring the cup to St. Louis! The challenge will come next summer when David Backes and Troy Brouwer are set to become unrestricted free agents while Jaden Schwartz will test the restricted free agent market. After three successful seasons, Tarasenko proved that he deserved the $7.5 million per season.

It sets up a scenario where St. Louis might be compelled over the next year or two to trade players they otherwise wouldn’t have to remain cap compliant.

Tarasenko, 23, had a breakout season in 2014-15, tying for 10th in the National Hockey League with 73 points, fifth with 37 goals and seventh with a plus-27 rating in 77 regular-season games. He’s the highest-paid player under 25 – the next youngest player on the top-25 list is Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos, who will turn 26 this upcoming February – but it’s worth it; with a talent ceiling he’s likely nowhere close to hitting yet, Tarasenko is worth his dollar value. Unlike the Blues playing style during the playoffs, Tarasenko didn’t alter his production. He also added six goals and one assist in seven playoff games.