The Ottawa Senators announced late last night that the club reached an agreement with UFA Vladimir Tarasenko on a 1 year / $5M contract. The pact also includes a full no trade clause.
“Vladimir’s a natural goal scorer,” said Senators general manager Pierre Dorion. “He’s a dynamic player who can score from anywhere in the offensive zone, as well as an underrated playmaker who’s made a career out of driving offence for he and his linemates. An established performer in the regular season and in the playoffs, we’re thrilled to add a player of his calibre to our lineup.”
The deal caps off an eventful offseason for the club, which also saw Dorion & Co. trade forward Alex DeBrincat to the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for Dominik Kubalik, Donovan Sebrango, a conditional 1st round pick and a 4th round selection in 2024. DeBrincat would then go on to sign a 4 year / $7.875M AAV extension with his hometown club.
In essence, Ottawa has essentially swapped out DeBrincat’s $7.875M salary for $7.5M worth of production from Kubalik and Tarasenko. The deal helps balance out Ottawa’s top 9 forward group, and allows for additional roster flexibility beyond their top two lines. Something the group was sorely lacking in 2022-23.
Across 82 games last year, DeBrincat posted 66 points (27G, 39A), and a -31 rating. Meanwhile, Tarasenko and Kubalik registered 50 points (18G, 32A) and 45 points (20G, 25A) respectively.
Tarasenko is a six time 30 goal scorer at the NHL level, while Kubalik has reached the mark once himself.
With Ottawa’s front office having little leverage in a potential DeBrincat deal, the outcome is about as good as can be expected for Sens fans. Adding in what will hopefully be a fully healthy season from Josh Norris, and suddenly Ottawa has a deep forward group which has players slotted into their natural roles within the lineup.
With both Tarasenko and Kubalik set to come off the books at season’s end, they also avoid tying themselves into long term contracts which may age poorly. The freed up cap space, plus a bump in the cap ceiling of roughly $4M in 2024-25 should leave the club with ample space to sign blue liner Jake Sanderson to a long term deal.
That being said, the signing will also likely necessitate another move from the front office. In order to lock up Shane Pinto, the club may need to look at moving Mathieu Joseph’s $2.95M salary off the books before the season begins.
Such a deal will likely involve a non-contending team with ample cap space, such as Arizona, Chicago, or Anaheim. It will also require a “sweetener” to get the job done as well. Something along the lines of Joseph + a 3rd round pick for a 7th rounder or future considerations.
With the addition of Tarasenko, Ottawa is adding a former Stanley Cup champion, with proven goal scoring ability. A four time All-Star, the 31 year old enjoyed his most productive season in 2021-22 when he tallied 82 points (34G, 48A) across 75 games with the Blues. Prior to that, the Russian forward hit the 40G mark in 2015-16 and nearly repeated the feat the following year when he registered 39G.
The Yaroslavl native has represented Russia internationally on 9 separate occasions, and managed to capture World Junior gold back in 2011. There he was the tournament’s second leading scorer behind only Brayden Schenn, with 11 points (4G, 7A) in 7 games played.
A minor subplot to keep an eye on regarding the addition of Tarasenko could pop up in the event of an injury this season. Back in 2021, the 6’1” winger requested a trade out of St. Louis after it was reported that he was unhappy with how the club handled his injured shoulder and subsequent surgeries. The dispute resulted in him being left unprotected in the NHL expansion draft, but he was ultimately not selected by Seattle.
Bridges evidently weren’t mended as Tarasenko allegedly requested a 2nd trade in the summer of 2022. A deal never materialized in the offseason, however a February trade saw him head to the New York Rangers alongside defenseman Niko Mikkola in exchange for Sammy Blais, Hunter Skinner, a conditional 1st round pick in 2023, and a 4th rounder in 2024.
Ottawa has had an uneven recent history on the medical front themselves, with both Shane Pinto and Josh Norris re-aggravating injuries upon what some deemed a rushed return to the lineup. Then there was also the Matt Murray saga, which culminated with the goaltender taking shots at the Sens medical team through the press upon arrival in Toronto.
In the event that Tarasenko suffers any kind of significant injury, how Ottawa chooses to handle the matter could dictate whether or not the forward would consider extending beyond his current contract in the nation’s capital.
That being said, Ottawa now boasts a solidified blue line, and a deep group of forwards heading into 2023-24, in what should be a “playoffs or bust” season.
-Kyle Skinner
Twitter: @JKyleSkinner
Photo: Scott Haselius. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.