Panthers swing trade with Senators for Vladimir Tarasenko, bolstering forward depth
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The Florida Panthers have fortified their forward depth ahead of the NHL’s trade deadline as they prepare for another push for a Stanley Cup.
The Panthers on Wednesday acquired forward Vladimir Tarasenko from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for a pair of draft picks.
The picks: A conditional fourth-round selection in the 2024 NHL Draft (that becomes a third-round pick if the Panthers win the Stanley Cup) and Florida’s third-round selection in the 2025 NHL Draft.
The Senators are also retaining half of Tarasenko’s $5 million cap hit. The Panthers had $5,719,698 in projected cap space before the trade, according to the website CapFriendly. With Florida only having to cover $2.5 million, this allowed Panthers general manager Bill Zito freedom to make more moves ahead of the trade deadline, which is 3 p.m. Friday.
“Vladimir is a highly skilled and experienced scoring winger who provides our club with another dynamic offensive option as we embark on the remainder of our season,” Zito said in a press release announcing the trade. “We are excited for him to join our team, and to compete for the Stanley Cup once again”
Vladimir Tarasenko’s history
Tarasenko, 32, is in his 12th NHL season and has 615 career points (287 goals, 328 assists) through 732 games.
He spent the first 10-and-a-half seasons of his career with the St. Louis Blues before being traded (along with now-Panthers defenseman Niko Mikkola) to the New York Rangers.
Tarasenko signed a one-year, $5 million deal with Ottawa in the offseason and has 17 goals and 24 assists so far this season.
How he fits with the Florida Panthers
Tarasenko gives the Panthers another forward who can contribute offensively.
Where he plays once he arrives in South Florida is still to be determined.
Tarasenko is a left-handed shot who has almost exclusively played on the right wing. Florida already has Sam Reinhart and Matthew Tkachuk as the right wings for its top two forward lines.
Two potential options if the Panthers want Tarasenko on one of the top forward lines:
1.) Tarasenko on the left wing of the top line with Aleksander Barkov at center and Reinhart at right wing, with Carter Verhaeghe moving to left wing on the second line (currently occupied by Nick Cousins).
2.) Tarasenko on the right wing of the second line, with Tkachuk moving from right wing to left wing and Sam Bennett at center.
A third possibility: Evan Rodrigues is the right wing on Florida’s third line but is comfortable playing on both wings, so the Panthers could move Rodrigues to the left wing of the second line and Tarasenko could start his Florida tenure on the right wing of the third line playing alongside Eetu Luostarinen and Anton Lundell.
Tarasenko is also experienced on the power play, with 68 power-play goals and 167 points while playing a man up in his NHL career.
Panthers top team in NHL
The Panthers enter Wednesday atop the NHL standings with a 43-16-4 record. They have won 16 of their past 18 games and have picked up points in 27 of their past 31 games.
Their 90 points are three ahead of both the Vancouver Canucks (40-17-7, 87 points) and Boston Bruins (36-13-15, 87 points), both of whom have played one more game than Florida.
The Panthers next play Thursday against the Philadelphia Flyers at Amerant Bank Arena, with puck drop scheduled for 7 p.m. They wrap up a quick two-game homestand Saturday against the Calgary Flames.
