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Vladimir Tarasenko’s New Deal: What’s Taking So Long?

By Kate Cimini

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Months have passed since St. Louis Blues GM Doug Armstrong announced his intention to re-sign Blues superstar Vladimir Tarasenko, with no real updates on where the two parties stand.

“The St. Louis Blues will not be in the spot on July 5, if he’s not signed, not to be able to match any offer sheet that’s out there,” Armstrong said in late April. “If it means allowing players to go to free agency, or if it means making players sweat it out on what their deal’s going to be, he’s the priority for us.”

When Armstrong came out with this pronouncement after the postseason ended for St. Louis, nearly everyone who heard this agreed that it was the right position to take. Over three years Tarasenko earned 66 goals and 135 points in 179 regular-season games and posted 10 goals and 11 points in 13 playoff games. He was a top points-scorer for St. Louis in the postseason with six goals and seven points over six games against Minnesota, and occasionally scoring in magnificent style.

So where is his contract?

With two days left until the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, the pressure is on Armstrong to draft well and draft often, and particularly to get a first-round pick to take home. He and his management team have no doubt been working furiously to prepare for the Draft.

Next: Blues Should Jump On Sharks' No. 9 Pick

But let us not forget that Armstrong has had almost exactly two months to cut a deal with Tarasenko. Two months in which he reassured the public repeatedly that there was no danger of letting the Blues’ top winger slip through their fingers. But after two months, the Blues are still exactly where they stood the day after their miserable Game 6 loss to the Minnesota Wild: up a creek without a Tarasenko.

And a top-ten goal- and points-scorer for the 2014-2015 regular season in the NHL like Tarasenko is absolutely worth sending an offer sheet. I can name three teams off the top of my head that could afford a right-winger like the Blues no. 91, and a dozen more that would love to get their hands on him. And while offer sheets are rare in the NHL, they do still happen. Shea Weber and the Flyers are proof enough of that.

“(Tarasenko) knows he’s going to be here, we know he’s going to be here,” Armstrong told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch June 18. “When it happens, it happens.”

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It’s great that Armstrong isn’t feeling the pinch. He must be a very zen person who gets up at 3 AM to do six hours or so of yoga. But once he declared Tarasenko the top priority, telling media that this was the first deal he anticipated wrapping up, things ground to a halt on every other front, and for a team that looks suspiciously similar to one that failed out of the postseason, that’s bad news.

Should Tarsasenko receive an offer sheet, the Blues have stated they are unwilling in every way to let him walk, meaning they will almost certainly match any offer sheet Tarasenko signs. This could prove costly for St. Louis, a team that already runs close to the cap ceiling.

Armstrong may have several weeks left until the magical date of July 1, the expiration date of Tarasenko’s contract, to wrap things up with him, but other players are certainly feeling the heat at this point.

Nine other players hit free agency this summer, among them, Jake Allen (who should be considered part of the new core the Blues rebuild around), Robert Bortuzzo, and Chris Porter, both of whom performed well enough to merit a return to St. Louis the following season. Bortuzzo was held out of the playoffs due to injury, and Porter scored one goal and two points, putting up some strong possession numbers.

If Tarasenko receives and signs an offer sheet (a couple of which are probably just waiting, ink already dry, for July 1) the Blues will have significantly less capital to work with when it comes to adding new free agents, re-signing RFA Bortuzzo, and more. This could turn into a worst-case scenario for St. Louis, who could be forced into overpaying for an RFA who, while excellent, is still in the early stages of what will hopefully be a long and fruitful NHL career. Our own A.P. Andes predicts Tarasenko will go for somewhere around $10 million a year, and he could indeed, if an offer sheet comes into play.

If he wants to hold on to any of the nine restricted and unrestricted free agents, or to have any real money to work with this summer, Armstrong must wrap up negotiations with Tarasenko and his agent before June 30. End of story.

Next: Armstrong Named Team Canada GM

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