Vladimir Tarasenko Traded to Panthers from Senators Ahead of 2024 NHL Deadline

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The Ottawa Senators announced Wednesday that they traded winger Vladimir Tarasenko to the Florida Panthers ahead of Friday’s NHL trade deadline.

In exchange, the Sens are receiving a conditional 2024 fourth-round pick and a 2025 third-round pick, and Ottawa is retaining half of Tarasenko’s salary.

Should the Panthers win the Stanley Cup this season, the 2024 fourth-round pick will become a third-round pick instead.

Tarasenko, 32, is a four-time NHL All-Star who experienced the bulk of his success during an 11-year run with the St. Louis Blues.

As a member of the Blues, Tarasenko racked up 262 goals and 291 assists for 553 points in 644 regular-season games. That included six seasons of 30 or more goals, led by a career-high 40 goals in 2015-16.

The Russian is not far removed from his best point-producing season, finishing with 82 points in 2021-22.

Tarasenko also had 41 goals and 60 points in 90 playoff games for the Blues, and he won a Stanley Cup at the conclusion of the 2018-19 season.

This marks the second consecutive year that Tarasenko has been traded, as St. Louis shipped him to the New York Rangers last season. In 31 games for the Rangers as a rental player, Tarasenko had eight goals and 13 assists for 21 points.

Tarasenko’s market in free agency last offseason was somewhat tepid, prompting him to sign a one-year, $5 million contract with the Senators.

It can be argued that he exceeded expectations, racking up 17 goals and 24 assists for 41 points in 57 games this season. He has also posted a plus-13 rating, which is his best mark since 2017-18.

While the Senators are the second-worst team in the Eastern Conference this season with just 53 points, the trade instantly catapults Tarasenko into Stanley Cup contention.

The Panthers reached the Stanley Cup Final last season, falling to the Vegas Golden Knights. So far this season, they lead the Atlantic Division, the Eastern Conference and the NHL as a whole with 90 points.

Tarasenko will join a Panthers team that is already stacked with high-end talent at forward, including Matthew Tkachuk, Aleksander Barkov, Carter Verhaeghe and Sam Reinhart, who leads the team with 75 points and is second in the NHL with 45 goals.

Given his scoring ability, Tarasenko could instantly slot in as part of the Panthers’ second line alongside Tkachuk and center Sam Bennett.