Senators trade Tarasenko to Panthers for picks

The Ottawa Senators dealt Vladimir Tarasenko to the Florida Panthers for a conditional fourth-round pick in this year’s draft and a third-round selection in 2025, his former club announced Wednesday.

The conditional pick will become a 2026 third-rounder if the Panthers win the Stanley Cup, and Ottawa is retaining 50% of the forward’s $5-million cap hit.

The Russian is a pending unrestricted free agent and had a no-trade clause he would’ve had to waive to approve the swap, per CapFriendly.

Tarasenko was one of the top players available ahead of Friday’s NHL trade deadline. The 32-year-old winger has proven he can still produce offensively, notching 17 goals and 24 assists in 57 games with the Senators this season.

Ottawa signed Tarasenko to a one-year contract last July. He finished last season with the New York Rangers, who acquired him from the St. Louis Blues. He represented the Blues, who drafted him 16th overall in 2010, for parts of 11 campaigns.

Tarasenko’s best years came between 2014 and 2019. He scored at least 33 goals in each of those five seasons, racking up 40 in 2015-16. However, shoulder injuries (and three separate surgeries) hindered him until he bounced back with 34 goals and a career-high 82 points in 2021-22.

The Panthers entered Wednesday with the league’s best record at 43-16-4.

Tarasenko excited to join young Sens team that’s ‘very hungry to win’

Free-agent signee Vladimir Tarasenko is thrilled for the opportunity that lays ahead as the newest member of the Ottawa Senators.

“I like that it’s a young team, very hungry to win,” Tarasenko told reporters Tuesday. “With the ownership change and talking to the coach and to the general manager and to the guys, it sounds like they really, really want to win and take the next step and I’m very happy to be a part of it.”

Tarasenko inked a one-year, $5-million deal with the club Thursday. He was arguably the top unrestricted free agent remaining.

The Senators have missed the postseason in six straight seasons – the third-longest active drought in the league – but Tarasenko is up to task of helping the team get over the hump from rebuilder to contender.

“It’s very exciting when you have some challenges ahead of you,” he said. “I’m very excited to be a part of it and to maybe share my experience from what I’ve had in previous years and help a team take the next step, win more games, make the playoffs, and go from there.”

Tarasenko will bring valuable championship pedigree to the team, as he and Mathieu Joseph are the only players on the roster who’ve won a Stanley Cup. Tarasenko did so with the St. Louis Blues in 2019, tallying 11 goals and six assists in 26 playoff games during the Cup run. Overall, he has 97 contests of postseason experience and has made the playoffs in 10 of his 11 NHL seasons.

The Russian winger is 31 now, but he proved last season he can still be productive in a top-six role, registering 18 goals and 50 points in 69 games split between the Rangers and Blues.

Senators sign Tarasenko to 1-year, $5M deal

The Ottawa Senators inked Vladimir Tarasenko to a one-year, $5-million contract, the club announced Thursday.

Tarasenko was an unrestricted free agent. His new pact includes a full no-trade clause.

The 31-year-old collected eight goals and 13 assists in 31 games with the New York Rangers this past season after the St. Louis Blues traded him there in February. He produced 10 tallies and 19 helpers over 38 contests with the Blues in 2022-23.

Tarasenko spent his first 10 full seasons with St. Louis, notching at least 30 goals in six seasons, including five straight from 2014-15 through 2018-19. That included a career-best 40 in 2015-16. However, he was then slowed by three shoulder surgeries in a span of 28 months.

The Blues drafted Tarasenko 16th overall in 2010.

Ottawa is down to just $32,620 in cap space as a result of the signing, according to CapFriendly. The Senators have two of their own young forwards left to sign in restricted free agent Egor Sokolov and Shane Pinto, who’s a 10.2(c) player – essentially an RFA but ineligible for arbitration or an offer sheet.

Blues GM Armstrong: Tarasenko trade marks end of era for Stanley Cup team

With the St. Louis Blues mired in a stagnant 2022-23 season, the team continued closing the door on its 2019 Stanley Cup-winning core with Thursday’s trade sending veteran winger Vladimir Tarasenko to the New York Rangers.

“We had a good season last year, we were trying to wring out another year out of this group,” general manager Doug Armstrong said shortly after the deal. “I think when you go back to our successful season of ’19, we were a veteran team. We won as a veteran team, and we’ve been able to hang on to that group for three more years.

“This year, obviously, was the end of that era.”

Eight players remain from the Blues’ championship roster: Ryan O’Reilly, Robert Thomas, Brayden Schenn, Ivan Barbashev, Sammy Blais (whom the Rangers sent back to the Blues in the Tarasenko trade), Colton Parayko, Robert Bortuzzo, and Jordan Binnington.

Tarasenko had been a key piece for St. Louis since making his NHL debut in 2012-13. The six-time 30-goal scorer ranks fifth in franchise history in both tallies (262) and points (553) in 644 games.

The 31-year-old added 11 goals and six assists in 26 playoff contests during the Blues’ run to their first Stanley Cup.

Tarasenko’s name had been in the rumor mill for some time. He reportedly requested a trade in July 2021 after losing trust in St. Louis over its handling of two of his three shoulder surgeries.

Blues head coach Craig Berube discussed his long-standing relationship with Tarasenko on Thursday.

“Listen, as a coach and a player, you always have battles and things, but it was never personal. … I respect (Tarasenko) for that because there was a lot of tough moments and conversations that weren’t the best, but listen, he never held a grudge and neither did I.”

A pending unrestricted free agent, Tarasenko said Friday there was “no chance” he’d remain with St. Louis, according to USA Today Sports’ Vince Z. Mercogliano.

“No deal was offered, so I knew I was going to move somewhere,” he said. “I talked with Artemi (Panarin), and they wanted me here. … One of my best friends plays here, and we have a chance to win a Cup again.”

Tarasenko skated on a line with Panarin and Mika Zibanejad ahead of his debut in the Big Apple.

O’Reilly said he wishes his former teammate all the best with the Rangers.

“It was weird. It’s something that you’re never really ready for or expect. … We’ve been through so much since I’ve been on this team,” he said of the trade. “He’s always been there, such a huge piece for us, and obviously winning together, it’s sad to see him go.”

The Blues are 23-25-3 on the season and sit nine points out of the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference. Tarasenko will get a chance to face his former team on April 6 in St. Louis.

Rangers acquire Tarasenko from Blues in blockbuster deal

The St. Louis Blues traded forward Vladimir Tarasenko and defenseman Niko Mikkola to the New York Rangers in exchange for winger Sammy Blais, prospect Hunter Skinner, a conditional 2023 first-round pick, and a conditional fourth-round selection in 2024, the teams announced Thursday.

St. Louis is also retaining 50% of Tarasenko’s salary, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. A pending unrestricted free agent, Tarasenko is playing out the last season of an eight-year pact with a $7.5-million cap hit.

The Rangers had two 2023 first-round selections after acquiring the Dallas Stars’ pick in the deal for Nils Lundkvist. The Blues will receive whichever of the two picks comes later, while the 2024 fourth-round pick will become a third-rounder if the Rangers make the playoffs this season.

New York general manager Chris Drury said Tarasenko and Mikkola will play Friday against the Seattle Kraken, according to The Athletic’s Arthur Staple.

Tarasenko’s 29 points (10 goals, 19 assists) in 38 games this season were the fifth most on the Blues. He was sidelined for 10 games after sustaining a hand injury on Dec. 31.

Tarasenko was a longtime target of the Rangers, and the team opted to make a push for him after feeling the costs for Timo Meier and Patrick Kane were too high, reports ESPN’s Emily Kaplan.

New York sits third in the Metropolitan Division with a 29-14-8 record. The Rangers needed some help up front, ranking 15th in the league with 164 goals this season.

Tarasenko reportedly requested a trade out of St. Louis in July 2021, but nothing materialized. Tarasenko supposedly lost trust in the team over how it handled two of his three shoulder surgeries. Team physicians operated on the six-time 30-goal scorer’s shoulder in 2018 and 2019. In 2020, doctors from outside the organization performed an additional procedure after the ligament damage from the original injury wasn’t fixed during the first two surgeries.

The winger was limited to just 34 games across the 2019-20 and 2020-21 campaigns, but he enjoyed a resurgence last season, leading St. Louis with 82 points in 75 games.

The 31-year-old was instrumental during the Blues’ run to the Stanley Cup in 2019, chipping in with 17 points (11 goals, six assists) in 26 playoff games, including two game-winners.

When asked about his uncertain outlook during last weekend’s All-Star festivities, the veteran simply responded, “Even Vladi doesn’t know the future of Vladi,” according to The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford.

The Blues are in a state of flux. They own a 23-25-3 record and are currently nine points out of the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference. Captain Ryan O’Reilly can become an unrestricted free agent in a few months and may also be on the move with the trade deadline just a few weeks away.

As for the other piece headed to the Rangers in the deal, Mikkola, 26, put up three assists in 50 games with St. Louis this season while averaging 16:39 minutes of ice time per night.

Blues fans are already familiar with Blais, who has five helpers in 40 contests this campaign. St. Louis dealt him to New York in July 2021 as part of the trade that sent Pavel Buchnevich to the Blues. Blais, 26, put up 35 points through 119 games during his first St. Louis stint. He was limited to just 14 games last season in the Big Apple after suffering a torn ACL.

The Rangers selected Skinner in the fourth round of the 2019 draft. The 6-foot-3 blue-liner has eight points in the ECHL this season, as well as two assists in eight games with the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack.

Blues GM: ‘Good likelihood’ Tarasenko will start season with team

St. Louis Blues general manager Doug Armstrong is joining the list of those who expect discontented sniper Vladimir Tarasenko to be with the team when the puck first drops in October.

“There’s a good likelihood that he’ll be there,” Armstrong said, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Jim Thomas. “Vladi and I have talked about that. He understands.”

Armstong said he recognizes Tarasenko’s desire to be traded, but the NHL’s current pandemic-altered landscape didn’t give St. Louis an appropriate opportunity to give the longtime Blues winger what he wanted.

“It’s a difficult industry right now. It’s a flat cap. Vladi hasn’t played a lot of hockey in the last couple years. He knows he’s gonna have to go out there and play very well,” Armstrong said.

Shoulder injuries have mired Tarasenko’s career in recent years – he’s only appeared in 34 regular-season games over the past two campaigns, and he put up 14 points in 24 contests in 2020-21. The 29-year-old was reportedly unhappy with the way St. Louis handled two of his three shoulder surgeries, and the saga made him lose trust with the club.

Fortunately for both the Blues and the Russian forward, the doctor who performed Tarasenko’s most recent surgery said his shoulder should be 100% for this season.

“I guess my (hope) is that he’ll be playing so good that he won’t want to be traded,” Armstrong said. “And we won’t want to trade him.

“We just have to have a good season. He has to have a good season. He wants to play for a number of years, and to do that, he’s gotta make himself marketable. And to do that, we have to be a good team for him, too.”

St. Louis head coach Craig Berube echoed that point earlier this month, saying he expects Tarasenko to play some “good hockey” with the Blues.

Tarasenko, who the Blues drafted 16th overall in 2010, has 442 points in 531 games and has scored over 30 goals in a campaign five times in his career.

Training camp begins in late September.

Berube expects Tarasenko to start season with Blues

Craig Berube is operating under the assumption that disgruntled forward Vladimir Tarasenko will be in the St. Louis Blues‘ lineup on opening night.

“I expect Vladdy to play for us,” the Blues head coach said Tuesday on the “Cam and Strick Podcast.” “I’m going to treat him like every other player. Yeah, he asked to be traded, and things happened, but again, we want Vladdy to play good hockey for us.”

Berube indicated that nothing would change in terms of Tarasenko’s fit with the club.

“He’s going to have a role on the team like he always has,” the bench boss said. “We’ll deal with it internally and we’ll go from there.”

Tarasenko requested a trade early in the offseason and reportedly didn’t trust the club because he was upset with how it dealt with two of his three shoulder surgeries.

St. Louis then exposed him in the expansion draft. One day before the proceedings, Tarasenko’s surgeon said the winger’s shoulder was “100% ready” for the upcoming season. The Seattle Kraken ultimately picked Vince Dunn from the Blues.

Tarasenko was limited to 34 games over the last two campaigns due to his shoulder woes. He’s a five-time 30-goal scorer who netted a career-high 40 with St. Louis in 2015-16.

The Russian helped the Blues win the Stanley Cup in 2019, posting 11 markers and six helpers in 26 playoff games that spring. Tarasenko ranks fifth on the franchise’s all-time goals list with 218 in 531 contests, and he’s spent his entire nine-year career with St. Louis.

The 29-year-old is under contract through 2022-23 at a $7.5-million cap hit, according to CapFriendly.

Surgeon: Tarasenko’s shoulder ‘100% ready’ for next season

The doctor who performed Vladimir Tarasenko‘s most recent surgery is certain that shoulder issues won’t hold the disgruntled St. Louis Blues sniper back next season.

“Vlad’s shoulder is very stable and strong,” Dr. Peter Millett told The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford. “He told me it is more stable and stronger than it has felt in a long while. To me, it feels rock solid. There is no doubt Vlad will be 100% ready for the upcoming season. I am confident he will be ready to play and that he will make a big impact for his team.”

Tarasenko, 29, recently requested a trade out of St. Louis, where he’s spent his entire nine-year NHL career. He’s reportedly upset by the Blues’ handling of his first two shoulder operations and no longer trusts the organization. Team physicians oversaw Tarasenko’s surgeries in 2018 and 2019, but he chose Millett to repair ligament damage in 2020.

The Blues left Tarasenko exposed for Wednesday’s Seattle Kraken expansion draft. The NHL’s 32nd franchise could select the star winger to play in its top six or flip him to another team for assets.

Tarasenko has only played 34 regular-season games over the past two years. He was one of the league’s top scorers before being hampered by injuries, eclipsing the 30-goal mark in five consecutive seasons from 2014-19.

Blues expose Tarasenko in expansion draft

The St. Louis Blues aren’t protecting Vladimir Tarasenko in the upcoming expansion draft, reports The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford.

St. Louis will instead shield forward Ivan Barbashev from being selected by the Seattle Kraken, per Rutherford.

Tarasenko reportedly requested a trade earlier this month following his frustration with how the Blues handled two of his three shoulder surgeries and now no longer trusts the club.

The former star winger is under contract through 2022-23 at a cap hit of $7.5 million, according to CapFriendly.

Tarasenko excelled for the Blues during their Stanley Cup championship run in 2018-19. During that postseason, he collected 11 goals and six assists across 26 games to help St. Louis win the title. However, he’s been limited to 34 regular-season games over the last two seasons.

He’s spent his entire nine-year career with the Blues, who drafted him 16th overall in 2010.

Blues’ Tarasenko requests trade, doesn’t trust club

Vladimir Tarasenko has requested a trade from the St. Louis Blues and the team is working on moving the sniper, The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford reports.

Tarasenko asked to be dealt earlier this offseason. He’s upset over how the Blues handled two of his three shoulder surgeries, and the veteran no longer trusts the club, sources told Rutherford.

Team physicians operated on the five-time 30-goal scorer’s shoulder in 2018 and 2019. In 2020, doctors from outside the organization performed a procedure on Tarasenko after the ligament damage from the original injury wasn’t successfully fixed during the first two surgeries.

Tarasenko has only appeared in 34 regular-season games over the last two years. He recorded 14 points over 24 contests during the 2020-21 campaign before adding two goals as the Colorado Avalanche swept St. Louis in the first round.

The veteran recorded 33 goals and 35 assists over 76 games during his last healthy season in 2018-19, and he notched 10 playoff tallies while the Blues marched to their first Stanley Cup.

There are two years left on Tarasenko’s current contract at a $7.5 million cap hit, according to Cap Friendly. However, he’s owed $9.5 million next season, which could deter cash-strapped suitors.

The forward also holds a full no-trade clause, but Tarasenko has provided the Blues with a list of as many as 10 teams he’d waive it to join, according to Rutherford.

The Blues drafted him 16th overall in 2010. The 29-year-old has amassed 442 points over 531 games since entering the NHL in 2012-13.