The Detroit Red Wings have traded forward Vladimir Tarasenko to the Minnesota Wild for future considerations.
The Red Wings reported on Monday that they are trading winger Vladimir Tarasenko to the Minnesota Wild for future considerations.
Tarasenko, 33, signed a two-year deal with the Red Wings following a Stanley Cup win during the 2023-24 season with the Florida Panthers. While splitting time between Florida and the beginning of the season with the Ottawa Senators, Tarasenko recorded 55 points through 76 games and appeared to be a solid low-cost option for the Red Wings top-six forward group.
This didn't pan out however as he recorded just 33 points through his first season with Detroit and was visibly not a fit with the team. He recorded career-worst numbers across the board and made Detroit fans afraid of his $4.75 million cap hit being on the books for another season.
Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman made a calculated move to send Tarasenko to Minnesota and removing all that used up cap space as the team looks to make some key adds in free agency. There's no indication yet as to what the future considerations will be but the move has the potential to play a major factor in other moves this summer.
If you take into account the money added with John Gibson's contract at $6.4 million over the next two seasons plus the moves to get rid of Tarasenko as well as Petr Mrazek, the Red Wings are back where they started with $23.1 million in cap space. Yzerman made a significant upgrade in the crease but didn't also take Detroit out of the running for some big name free agents.
Detroit is reportedly in on several free agents early on with the most notable name being back-to-back Stanley Cup champion Aaron Ekblad from the Florida Panthers. The money saved with this trade will go a long way in potentially acquiring the right-handed defenceman from nearby Windsor, Ontario.
