Tarasenko has a big contract, but has his eyes on a Stanley Cup for Blues

After signing an eight-year, $60 million contract extension with the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday, star forward Vladimir Tarasenko isn’t concerned with the sudden jump in his bank account.

He’s all about one thing — helping the Blues win a Stanley Cup.

“No, it’s not about the money,” Tarasenko said Wednesday during a conference call with the media. “This is about your personality, how you can talk to the guys, how you can help the guys. I think money is important, but in leadership terms it is nothing. You can sign $60 million contract in one year but teammates can hate you.

“All I’m thinking about, all I’m dreaming about is winning the Cup.”

The Blues have not been beyond the second round of the playoffs in the last three seasons, losing in the first round in each of the last two.

“I think the last three years our team gets good experience,” said Tarasenko, who also got married last week in Russia. “Right now we lose three years in a row, same style. Those are tough years for us. We just need to break it and we need to go as a group of guys.

“We need to stay all together, all 25 to 27 guys together. The main part for me is we need to have one goal. It’s not about the points, it’s not about the goals ... It’s all about the Cup. If 26 guys will dream about the same thing, I think we can make it.”

Story and video with Blues GM Doug Armstrong talking about Tarasenko contract

The 23-year-old Tarasenko led the Blues in scoring last season with 37 goals and 73 points and also made the NHL All-Star team. He was fifth in the NHL in goals and 10th overall in points, also contributing a plus-minus rating of plus-27.

After the season the 16th overall pick in the 2010 NHL Draft he was named to the NHL’s Second All-Star Team. He has 66 goals and 135 points in 179 career games over three seasons and 10 goals and 11 points in 13 playoff contests.

Tarasenko spoke about the solid foundation and support he received during his younger years from his father and grandfather, both successful athletes in their own right.

Grandfather Vladimir Tarasenko was a soccer star and Tarasenko’s father, Andrei Tarasenko, was a hockey star in the Russian Superleague who also played for his country at the 1994 Winter Olympics. Andrei Tarasenko also coached in Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League, the league where the younger Vladimir Tarasenko began his own pro career playing against much older men.

“This is going to be my year No. 8 in pro hockey,” the younger Tarasenko said, counting three seasons with the Blues. “In this eight years I’ve had a lot of good stuff happen with me. I’ve worked all my life to make this deal and I’m not going to just stop working and stop improving myself. My parents, my father and my grandfather told me when I was young, ‘You need to be better every time. It doesn’t matter how many goals you score, you need to score more ever year.’

“We still don’t have a Cup, so all I’m thinking about or dreaming about is the Stanley Cup.”

Tarasenko’s agent, former Blues goalie Mike Liut, talked about the contract negotiations with Blues General Manager Doug Armstrong. Both were comfortable with the long-term deal and the security it provides.

“You’re always discussing all the possibilities and the two variables are term and dollars,” Liut said. “You try to match that up to performance and projected performance. The longer you go, the shift in risk is to the club because they’re locked in to the payments. It balances itself through that process.”

Tarasenko was asked about assuming more of a leadership role now that’s the highest paid player on the roster.

“Leadership for me is not just about talking in the locker room and talking with the coach,” he said. “For me this is a way how we can get better, how we can handle the pressure. This is a really good feeling when you go on the ice and people follow you, that’s what leadership is for me. I know the Blues have big expectations for me and all the team. I try to do everything to help the Blues win the Cup.”

Liut said Tarasenko’s talents run far beyond skill and scoring thanks to his family’s multi-level sports background.

“He’s well-schooled not only in the game of hockey, which he certainly is on both sides of the puck,” Liut said, “but he has for his age a unique understanding on the obligation every player should have and that comes from his father and grandfather. That goes a long way, that’s your foundation in life and his foundation in hockey. He understands the game.”

This story was originally published July 8, 2015 at 10:12 AM with the headline "Tarasenko has a big contract, but has his eyes on a Stanley Cup for Blues."