In desperate need of scoring, the Detroit Red Wings have found an answer to help them keep producing numbers in the red-light district. The club and UFA Vladimir Tarasenko have agreed on a two-year contract with an AAV of $4.75 million.
The Russian right-winger scored 23 goals last season, splitting his time between the Ottawa Senators and Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers. Tarasenko, 32, is just two seasons removed from a 34-goal campaign with the St. Louis Blues in 2021-22.
However, it also can’t be denied that he’s been in somewhat of a decline in terms of scoring goals over the past couple of seasons. Tarasenko has also become quite the well-traveled NHLer. Last season, he tallied 18 goals in a campaign split between the St. Louis Blues and New York Rangers.
Detroit will be his fifth NHL club since the start of the 2022-23 season.
Published reports indicate that Tarasenko turned down a $4.3 million per season offer from the Pittsburgh Penguins earlier this week.
Tarasenko Compared To Red Wings Icon Fedorov
Early in his career, hockey insiders were drawing parallels between Tarasenko and Red Wings icon Sergei Fedorov. Indeed, Tarasenko, who wore number 91 in St. Louis—Fedorov’s number in Detroit—grew up in Russia as a major fan of the Red Wings.
“So many Russian players were here and pretty much the whole of Russia were cheering for Detroit,” Tarasenko said in a 2013 interview with the Windsor Star.
Hall of Fame coach Ken Hitchcock, who had Tarasenko on the bench in front of him when he was in charge of the Blues, believes Red Wings fans will warm to what Tarasenko brings to the ice.
“He just kind of wows you with his tenacity on the puck, his ability to make plays in small spaces,” Hitchcock said of Tarasenko. “He’s so strong on the puck.”
Since the conclusion of the season, Detroit has bid farewell to 57 goals with the departures of Daniel Sprong (18), David Perron (17), Jake Walman (12), and Shayne Gostisbehere (10).
A five-time 30-goal scorer, Tarasenko scored a career-high 40 goals in the 2015-16 season. His Stanley Cup win with the Florida Panthers last month was the second of his career, having previously won the Cup with the St. Louis Blues in 2018-19.