Vladimir Tarasenko, Blues Agree on New Contract: Latest Details, Reaction

The St. Louis Blues and star winger Vladimir Tarasenko reached an agreement Tuesday on an eight-year, $60 million contract extension, the team announced on its official website.  

Tarasenko, 23, is coming off of a monster third season in the NHL that saw him rack up 73 points, including 37 goals, in 77 games. Andy Strickland of Fox Sports Midwest noted further information about the structure of the new deal:

There was some concern heading into the offseason that the dynamic Russian, a restricted free agent, could attract a sizable offer sheet from another organization. His goal-scoring ability would look good on the first line of just about any team in the league.

Blues general manager Doug Armstrong made it clear that everything else was on the back burner until the situation got sorted out, as pointed out by Andrew Allsman of KMOV:

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We are not going to be active signing other players until we get him taken care of. We are going to take care of our restricted free agents but he's the primary guy. He knows it; the hockey world knows it. The St. Louis Blues will not be in a spot on July 1 to not be able to match any offer sheet made to him. If it means allowing players to go to free agency, making players sweat it out on what their deals are going to be, he's the priority for us.

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Tarasenko celebrated the deal getting done:

"I worked all my life to get this deal. I'm not stupid to stop working and stop improving myself," Tarasenko said on July 8, according to the Blues. "My father and grandfather told me it doesn't matter how many goals you score. You have to get better every year."

Tarasenko also talked about the expectations attached to the new deal, and his decision to stay in St. Louis, according to Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

NHL Numbers projected the Blues to have around $9.8 million in cap space before the re-signing. The $7.5 million annual value of the deal obviously eats up a large portion of that available money, but it does leave a little wiggle room for other moves.

He's part of a successful core group in St. Louis that also includes Alexander Steen, David Backes, Jaden Schwartz, Paul Stastny and Kevin Shattenkirk. The team tied for the most points (109) in the Western Conference in 2014-15 with the Anaheim Ducks.

Locking up Tarasenko was far and away the most important part of the Blues' offseason. Losing him to an offer sheet would have been a massive blow to their lineup, and it's borderline impossible to replace a nearly 40-goal scorer.

Now, he's locked up for the foreseeable future, and the team's outlook becomes a lot brighter as a result. The front office can begin to shift its focus to other needs, and while there aren't many, they could still use some depth additions both up front and on the blue line.