All along, the Blues figured it would be a gradual process for Vladimir Tarasenko. You don’t miss all but four games over 1 ½ years, undergo multiple shoulder surgeries, and step right back into the NHL as if nothing happened.
“We’re hoping he gets back and he’s the old Vladi,” general manager Doug Armstrong said on March 1, just a few days before Tarasenko’s season debut. “But we also know that Rome was not built in a day.
“We need him to be as good as he can be as quick as he can be, but we can’t think that he’s going to be the Savior and everyone else can exhale.”
