Quoting: STLBlues17
He’s 31 when he’s signing this contract, expires at 36. Underlying numbers are still nowhere near pre-injury levels...
and brutal defensively.
Not a guy who’s gonna age well.
1- Heh. And how are his "overlying" numbers?
Analytics and situational stats are fun, but they still are not as important as actual counting stats. And people always ignore the most pertinent ones anyway (such as Vova being top 10 in the league in rush chances or him leading the team in PP assists).
2- People LOVE to say this all the time, but does no one really notice all the huge ass-busting defensive plays he makes? Again, don't put analytics over what happens on the ice. Analytics don't take into account the amount of goals a player stops from happening, which seems like a pretty important thing. Besides, Tarasenko is not the one on that line who still offers up crazy zone turnover gifts too frequently - but it does affect his analytic on-ice numbers.
3- Maybe, maybe not, but I'm not sure I'd bet against him staying productive for 3-4 more years. Those eastern European tank forwards tend to have a decent ratio of guys who stay damn good a long time (Ovechkin, Malkin, Jagr, Lang, Kovalev, etc.).