Blues re-sign Vadim Zherenko to one-year contract

According to PuckPedia, the St. Louis Blues re-signed goaltender Vadim Zherenko to a one-year, two-way contract. The deal carries an NHL AAV of $775,000, with a minor-league salary of $125,000, through the 2025-26 season.

Zherenko is coming off his entry-level contract with the Blues, which carried a cap hit of $847,000 and a salary of $70,000 in the minors. He was one of three members of the Blues organization who were extended qualifying offers. Hunter Skinner and Nikita Alexandrov were other pending restricted free agents who received QOs prior to July 1.

Zherenko spent the first three years of his tenure in the organization with the Blues’ American Hockey League affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds. It has been a bumpy few years for the team as a whole, though the Russian backstop has had flashes of being a solid prospect. His best season with the T-Birds came during his rookie campaign in 2022-23. Along with earning a brief call-up to the Blues (though he didn’t play any games), Zherenko posted a 10-9-3 record in 25 games, posting a 3.14 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage.

The former Dynamo Krasnogorsk netminder saw more action in the past two seasons but was unable to replicate the success he had in his first year in North America. In 2024-25, Zherenko went 12-17-5 in 32 appearances, with a 3.44 GAA, a .897 SV% and one shutout.

In 86 AHL contests, he has a 34-40-9 record, with a 3.37 GAA, a .904 SV% and two shutouts. He has yet to help Springfield advance to the Calder Cup Playoffs.

Zherenko was initially taken by the Blues in the seventh round, 208th overall, of the 2019 NHL Draft.