- Vladimir Tarasenko is still unsigned more than a month into free agency
- Pro Hockey Rumors names Calgary and Vancouver as his two best remaining fits
- Read below for the one-year number his next contract is projected to land at
Vladimir Tarasenko is still without a team in August.
Pro Hockey Rumors ran through the 34-year-old winger’s market on Monday and settled on the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks as his two best remaining fits. Both clubs need goals up front, and a short-term deal would let either one flip him at the deadline if the season turns.
Brennan McClain put a number on it as well, projecting a one-year contract worth $2.5 million with another $2.5 million available in performance bonuses. The comparable he used was Max Pacioretty’s age-35 deal in Washington, adjusted for the rising cap.
That is a quieter finish than the one being sketched out in July, when Edmonton was the popular guess. Elliotte Friedman raised the Oilers in the first week of free agency:
Ottawa surfaced through the summer too, and Montreal got added to the pile last week when Jimmy Murphy made the case on The Sick Podcast:
“He’s a versatile guy. Everyone thinks offence when you think of Tarasenko, but he can get back and help out a bit. I just think if you look at the UFA market and you are looking for a plug-in piece, he’s the best plug-in piece for the Montreal Canadiens at this point,” Murphy said.
The production is there. Tarasenko put up 23 goals and 47 points in 75 games with Minnesota last season, the ninth 20-goal year of his career, then added five points in 11 playoff games.
His previous stop explains some of the hesitation around him. Detroit gave him two years and $9.5 million, got 11 goals and 33 points in 80 games out of the first season, and moved him to the Wild for future considerations.
Minnesota looked ready to keep him around. Tarasenko switched agents in late June and went to the open market instead, betting on a bidding war that never showed up.
Neither Calgary nor Vancouver has moved on him yet. Training camps open next month.
