Vladimir Tarasenko, who just won his second Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers, signed a two-year contract with the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday worth $4.75 million per year.
The signing of Tarasenko is the latest move in what has been a steady offseason for the Red Wings. It began on June 30 when they re-signed three-time Stanley Cup winner and 2016 Hart Memorial Trophy winner Patrick Kane to a one-year deal. They then brought back Christian Fischer and Tyler Motte before signing Jack Campbell, Erik Gustafsson and Cam Talbot in free agency.
But it also saw the Red Wings, a team that had 13 players with 10-plus goals, lose some of their firepower. Jake Walman was traded to the San Jose Sharks, Shayne Gostisbehere signed with the Carolina Hurricanes and David Perron joined the Ottawa Senators.
The multitude of moves left the Red Wings with more than $24 million in projected cap space and the reality that they could do something down the road.
Tarasenko joined the team on Wednesday.
Vladimir Tarasenko scored two goals and recorded two assists as the Florida Panthers beat the Edmonton Oilers in the seven-game Stanley Cup Final. Wilfredo Lee/KeynoteUSA Photo
The 32-year-old winger will be playing for his fourth team since leaving the Blues, the team that selected him 16th overall in the 2010 Draft, in a trade with the New York Rangers before the 2022-23 trade deadline. The Rangers also acquired Kane in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks that same season.
During his time with the Rangers he scored eight goals and 21 points in 31 games before scoring three goals and four points in seven playoff games.
Tarasenko then signed a one-year, $5 million contract with the Senators in free agency. It was part of an offseason haul that was designed to help the Senators reach the playoffs for the first time since the 2016-17 season.
He scored 17 goals and 41 points in 57 games, but watched as the Senators struggled to maintain consistency. They finished with the third-fewest points in the NHL, but traded Tarasenko to the Panthers, who eventually won the Stanley Cup title.
Tarasenko’s impact was instantaneous. He scored six goals and 14 points in 19 regular-season games. That led to five goals and nine points in 24 playoff games with the Panthers, who fended off the Edmonton Oilers to win the first title in team history.
Now Tarasenko is headed to one of the NHL’s original six franchises looking to return to the playoffs.
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From the 1990-91 season through the 2015-16 season, the only time the Red Wings failed to make the playoffs was during the 2004-05 lockout. Since then, the Red Wings have gone eight consecutive years without making the playoffs.
But they nearly did it this season. They finished with 91 points and tied the Washington Capitals. However, the Capitals clinched the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference via a tiebreaker that saw them have 32 regulation-time wins to the Red Wings’ 27.
With Tarasenko, the Red Wings now have a forward group that includes JT Compher, Andrew Copp, Alex DeBrincat, Dylan Larkin, Lucas Raymond and Kane, while CapFriendly projects cap space at $20.042 million.
Shortly after signing Tarasenko, the Red Wings freed up $4 million in cap space by trading winger Robby Fabbri and a conditional 2025 fourth-round pick to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for promising goaltender Gage Alexander.
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