The Detroit Red Wings signed Vladimir Tarasenko to a two-year contract.
Originally published on Inside The Rink | By Andrew Walsh | Last updated: 7/6/24
The Detroit Red Wings have signed right-winger Vladimir Tarasenko to a two-year contract at an average of $4.75 million. Tarasenko is a defending Stanley Cup winner who has 23 goals and 32 assists in 76 games with the Florida Panthers, helping the team win the Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history.
The Panthers and Red Wings share the Atlantic Division, and the Panthers won with 110 points to the Red Wings’ 91. Tarasenko won the Stanley Cup with the St. Louis Blues in 2019. So, where does Tarasenko’s acquisition leave the Red Wings after they essentially stood steady as free agency began? Keep in mind that the Red Wings must also re-sign their restricted free agents, Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond.
On the same day Tarasenko was acquired, the Red Wings dealt Robby Fabbri to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for goalkeeper Gage Alexander and a conditional fourth-round draft selection. Alexander is 22 years old. The Fabbri deal freed up $4 million in salary cap space to make place for Tarasenko. The Red Wings now have slightly more than $20 million in salary cap room to sign Seider, Raymond, and any other players Yzerman may have in mind.
Tarasenko was moved to the Panthers by the Ottawa Senators at the 2023 NHL trade deadline in exchange for a 2024 conditional fourth-round selection and a 2025 third-round pick. Along with bringing scoring depth to the lineup, Tarasenko may serve as a mentor for the Red Wings as they acclimate to “playoff-style hockey.” Tarasenko had five goals and four assists in 24 Stanley Cup games. Tarasenko would be among the Red Wings’ top five point scorers in 2023-24.
General manager Steve Yzerman appeared to be thrilled with the acquisition of Tarasenko. “He’s a left-shot winger, bigger body, a little bit different type of player than our wingers like Lucas Raymond, Patrick Kane, Alex DeBrincat — a bigger body,” stated Yzerman. “He’ll finish in the top six or nine. The scorer, a straight-ahead person, heads to the net. We think it’s a great addition.” The re-signing of Patrick Kane and the arrival of Tarasenko have improved the scoring on the right side of the Red Wings’ forward group this summer.
Jonatan Berggren is a young Red Wing who can play both left and right wing. Berggren had 26 goals and 36 assists in 12 games with the Red Wings and 53 games with the Grand Rapids Griffins during the 2023-24 season. Berggren was one of four players, including Seider and Raymond, to earn qualifying offers from the Red Wings. If the players sign an offer sheet with another club, the team that issued them has the right of first refusal or receives draft choice compensation.
Before the Red Wings development camp, Yzerman stated, “We had some interest in one that we believed may be a match. We rapidly realized that attempting to get it done would need serious surgery. So, who was the mysterious player? The apparent answer to the move he was referring to is Steven Stamkos. Stamkos spent the most of his career with the Tampa Bay Lightning, where Yzerman was general manager. The 34-year-old agreed to a four-year contract with the Nashville Predators worth $32 million.
I’ve said that the Red Wings will look considerably different in 2024-25. With the addition of Vladimir Tarasenko and the imminent contract extensions of Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond, the team hopes to improve on their 2023-24 season, which saw them ousted from playoff contention on the final day of the season. With a complete season from Alex DeBrincat, the Red Wings could be able to return to the Stanley Cup playoffs.
