A day after a report surfaced in Russia that Vladimir Tarasenko needed surgery, Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said it was untrue.
Armstrong said Tuesday that he was surprised himself to read comments from Russian national coach Oleg Znarok, citing information from Tarasenko's European-based agent Alexei Dementiev, that the Blues' leading scorer played through an injury and would need a procedure.
"I'll tell you, I saw it yesterday too and I was wondering," Armstrong said. "I called (Tarasenko) and he just said, 'I've got issues, but nothing that's going to need surgery.' We're working on his issues. He's a big man that plays big minutes that goes against the other team's most physical top players. So I'm not shocked he's not feeling great."
The reason Znarok was speaking about Tarasenko on Monday was because, with the Blues' season over, he could join Russia at the World Championships in Germany. When asked if he would be added to the roster, Znarok ruled him out because of the injury.
"There's nothing to talk about," Tarasenko said Tuesday. "Offseason starts right now, so everyone has injuries. We have a time to get healthy and be ready for next year. I don't feel good right now because we lost."
Armstrong said that he could only guess why it was reported that Tarasenko's condition required surgery.
"There's a little bit lost in the transition from the Russian agent to the Russian coach to the Russian media how it came across," he said.
The club is dealing with several injuries, but outside of Alexander Steen's broken foot, nothing significant.
"I got a long list yesterday," Armstrong said. "We have nothing that's really that serious. I think six weeks is going to cure a lot of what the guys have going on. Alex Steen was probably the one that was playing with the greatest discomfort with a broken bone in his foot. And then Murphy's Law, he also got a slap shot in the same foot in a different area. He battled through some stuff."
Steen's injury will not require surgery, and there are no others planned at this point, either.
"Guys are getting MRIs on some things, but it doesn't seem like there's going to be a lot that's going to prevent these guys from training quickly enough to be prepared for next season."
