St. Louis Blues: Vladimir Tarasenko Will Win The Hart Trophy This Season
By Jason Martin
St. Louis Blues forward Vladimir Tarasenko has been on the cusp of superstardom for the majority of his career. Now, we could see him take the next step.
The St. Louis Blues have lacked a true superstar. Although Vladimir Tarasenko has been a superstar by the numbers and by fan’s standards in St. Louis, he has just received the same confidence from the national media.
The 27-year-old forward is hitting his prime just in time for the Blues to win a Stanley Cup. Now, with St. Louis on the national radar after winning the Cup, this might be the best opportunity Tarasenko has of winning the Hart Trophy.
Recent Hart Trophy winners have been on championship-caliber teams, with the most significant exception being Taylor Hall of the New Jersey Devils and Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers.
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Both Hall and McDavid were able to register close to 100 points in their years when they won the league’s MVP award, and that’s usually what it takes to win the Hart.
Last season, Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov netted his first Hart Trophy after a 128, count em, 128 point season. 128 points may seem like a tall ask for Tarasenko next season, but the trophy is voted on by hockey writers, and Tarasenko does many things right.
Blues fans saw Tarasenko’s playmaking ability take the next step last year, and it was an encouraging sign of Tarasenko becoming the ultimate two-way player.
However, fancy passes and gritty work on the boards doesn’t win you a Hart Trophy. Instead, Tarasenko needs to score at least 40 goals last season, possibly even reach the half-century mark.
The Russian tank has reached 40 goals in a season before, achieving the feat during the 2015-16 season. Since then, Tarasenko has been remarkably consistent, scoring 39,33, and 33 goals in the following seasons.
There may have been a lot of things hindering Tarasenko from reaching the 50-goal plateau. Injuries, team play, lack of skill around him, could all be significant contributors to his “inability” to score.
This season, however, Tarasenko looks primed to repeat a lot of his success from last season. He scored 33 goals in the regular season and added 11 more in the Stanley Cup Playoffs before becoming a Stanley Cup champion for the first time.
The Blues are returning most of the roster from last season, and the team should be set up for more consistent success in 2020. If the Blues are good next year, it’s because Tarasenko is playing at an elite level.
He has been the fuel for the Blues engine for his entire career, and we shouldn’t expect that to change anytime soon.
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50 goals and a Hart Trophy may be too much to ask from the Russian sniper. However, with the Stanley Cup win putting the Blues on the map, this is the best chance Tarasenko has of winning the MVP award.