The St. Louis Blues and Vladimir Tarasenko agreed on an eight-year, $60 million deal on Tuesday, inking the 23-year-old until the age of 31. Tarasenko is coming off a breakout year in which he registered 37 goals, 36 assists and a +27 rating. Locking down Tarasenko long term for this amount of money is the right move for both sides, as it allows Tarasenko to get paid and it allows the Blues to be able to pay him a substantial sum without having to go through free agency with him again anytime soon.

The Blues did a good job of clearing cap space and preparing to make this deal happen. St. Louis sent forward T.J. Oshie to the Washington Capitals for forward Troy Brouwer, goaltender Pheonix Copley and a 2016 third-round pick while also letting defensemen Barret Jackman and Zbynek Michalek go during free agency.

The Oshie trade and departures of Jackman and Michalek gave the Blues cap space in order to make this deal happen. All three were tough moves to make, but they were necessary in order to keep the future bright for this team, and that future is Vladimir Tarasenko.

Along with the re-signing of Tarasenko, the Blues have also re-signed forward Dmitrij Jaskin (one year), defenseman Robert Bortuzzo (two years) and goaltender Jake Allen (two years). They also extended forward Jori Lehtera (three years) and signed defenseman Andre Benoit (two years) and forward Kyle Brodziak (one year).

The return and addition of these players allows the Blues’ top line of Lehtera, Tarasenko and Jaden Schwartz to stay in tact. The Blues also now have depth at defense with the re-signing of Bortuzzo and the addition of Benoit. They will have a solid group of veteran and hard-hitting forwards in Brodziak, Brouwer, David Backes and Alexander Steen to balance out the skilled youth they possess with Jaskin and the Tarasenko line.

Most importantly, the addition of Copley and the re-signing of Allen creates youth and depth at the goaltender position, which is something the Blues desperately need to figure out. Hopefully Allen or Copley will be the answer to the Blues’ problems in net.

In all, locking down Tarasenko for eight years is the right move as he is clearly a special talent in this league. Letting Oshie go was tough, but there was too much inconsistency with him to keep him around and risk losing Tarasenko.

The Blues have done a very good job with free agency and trades this offseason as they have re-signed and acquired the right pieces in order to keep this team relevant in the Central Division. It’s a step in the right direction after the miserable end to their season this past April.

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