The St. Louis Blues signed forward Vladimir Tarasenko to an eight-year contract worth $60 million on Tuesday. The 23 year old tied for 10th in the NHL last season with 73 points (37 goals, 36 assists) and had a plus-27 rating. He became the youngest Blues player to score 30 goals in a season since Brendan Shanahan (1991-92) and the first to have 73 points since Pavol Demitra in 2002-03.
Tarasenko was one of four players to have two hat tricks last season and was the only player to score six game-winning goals, six shootout goals and two overtime goals. He was the second Blues player (Brett Hull) to score a hat trick that included a game-winning overtime goal (Oct. 28 vs. the Dallas Stars).