Tarasenko With The Blues For The Long-Run

“When you have a family, this is important for you if you know you can stay in the same place. If your family loves this place, and if I love this place, there is no other option.”

Vladimir Tarasenko is officially a St. Louis Blue for the next 8 years, folks. Making a hefty $60 million over that span of time doesn’t seem too rough, either.

Tuesday afternoon, the club announced that they had agreed upon a contract to keep the 23-year-old Russian forward in St. Louis for 8 more years.

Thank you for your trust. Me,my wife and my family proud to stay in St.Louis! pic.twitter.com/zp6Hf18QP6

— Vladimir Tarasenko (@tara9191) July 7, 2015

Tarasenko has had an exciting few days, to say the least. Getting married 5 days ago and signing a multi-million dollar contract that will keep him with the Blues through 2023 isn’t a bad way to go about the offseason.

“This is not about the money,” he said when talking about team leadership. “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 the leadership terms, this is nothing. You can sign a $50 million-dollar contract in one year, but teammates can hate you. I work hard the last three years to make the leadership group. My teammates, my coach, and my general manager trust me. I will try to make them happy.”

Tarasenko had a phenomenal 2014-2015 season with the Blues and was not only a top player in the league, but also around the league. In 77 games, he recorded 73 points (37 G, 36, A) and a +27 rating.

“For me, we need to have one goal. It’s not about points, it’s not about goals, it’s not about whatever. It’s all about the Cup,” he said. “If 26 guys do the same thing, I think we can make it.”

Tarasenko gave the credit for his success to his father and grandfather. When asked about his leadership role on the team, he said, “my father and grandfather tell me I need to be a leader everywhere.”