The St. Louis Blues have made it clear that Vladimir Tarasenko is their top priority. That’s a pretty obvious statement after watching Tarasenko score a combined 43 goals in the regular season and the playoffs. Previously, the team stated that the Blues won’t handle any other free agents or make any decisions until Tarasenko is signed to a new contract. Doug Armstrong has now mentioned that the specifics (dollars and years) offered to Tarasenko will hinge on the NHL’s new salary cap.
Via the Post-Dispatch:
Armstrong said that the “caveat” on Tarasenko’s deal will be compensation and terms based on the NHL salary cap, which has yet to be determined. The ceiling in 2014-15 was $69 million, and after reports of a jump to near $73 million next season, the latest projection is $71.5 million.
“You hear maybe a $4 million swing from the different sides on what the cap is going to be,” Armstrong said. “That’s a lot of money in a cap system. We can keep more players the higher the cap is, or we can keep more players the less money he takes.”
In other words, Blues fans are going to have to be patient. The club won’t make a specific offer to Tarasenko until they know exactly where they’re working with in terms of a new salary cap. At the same time, it’s unclear whether Tom Stillman will once again give the green light to Armstrong to spend up to the cap. Financially, the Blues may be approaching 2015-16 a bit differently after the team bombed out of the playoffs again in the first round. Fans may express their anger with their wallets and that may force the Blues to spend a bit less.
Stay tuned. Negotiations should really get rolling as soon as the league announces the new cap.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
