On the road to becoming elite, Tarasenko gets set to cash in
It was a breakout season for Vladimir Tarasenko.
In just his third NHL season, the 23-year old Russian sharpshooter recorded career highs in all three major categories with 37 goals, 36 assists, and 73 points in the final season of his three-year entry level contract.
So what’s the Blues’ #1 priority this offseason you ask? RE-SIGN TARASENKO.
The Calgary Sun reports that Blues’ GM Doug Armstrong approached Tarasenko twice this year (once during training camp, and again mid-season) to discuss terms of an extension, but Tarasenko insisted on waiting.
And oh, what a great call that was.
This year, Tarasenko made $900,000 in salary, and an additional $850,000 in bonuses, but that could be chump change compared to what he’ll make next year. Depending on what the final league salary cap number ends up being, Tarasenko could be looking to make a cool $6 million over the course of next season.
“He’s an elite player in our game and teams take care of elite players” Armstrong told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “We’ve had good players before. He has the potential to be an elite player.”
