The Detroit Red Wings have signed right-winger Vladimir Tarasenko to a two-year contract with an average annual value of $4.75 million. Tarasenko, a defending Stanley Cup champion, scored 23 goals and added 32 assists in 76 games for the Florida Panthers, helping them win their first Stanley Cup in franchise history.
The Panthers, who are in the same Atlantic Division as the Red Wings, won the division with 110 points, while the Red Wings finished with 91 points. Tarasenko also won a Stanley Cup with the St. Louis Blues in 2019. This acquisition raises questions about the Red Wings’ strategy after a quiet start to free agency. They still need to re-sign restricted free agents Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond.
On the same day they acquired Tarasenko, the Red Wings traded Robby Fabbri to the Anaheim Ducks along with a conditional fourth-round draft pick for goaltender Gage Alexander. This trade freed up $4 million in salary cap space, making room for Tarasenko. The Red Wings now have over $20 million in cap space to sign Seider, Raymond, and potentially other players that GM Steve Yzerman has in mind.
Tarasenko was traded to the Panthers from the Ottawa Senators at the 2023 NHL trade deadline for a 2024 conditional fourth-round pick and a 2025 third-round pick. In addition to his scoring abilities, Tarasenko can mentor the Red Wings in “playoff-style hockey.” During the Panthers’ Stanley Cup run, he scored five goals and added four assists in 24 games. He would rank in the top five in points on the Red Wings for the 2023-24 season.
General manager Steve Yzerman expressed excitement about acquiring Tarasenko. “He’s a left-shot winger, bigger body, different type of player than our wingers like Lucas Raymond, Patrick Kane, Alex DeBrincat — a bigger body,” Yzerman said. “He’ll fill out that top six, top-nine group. Scorer, straight-ahead guy, goes to the net. We feel it’s a really good addition.” The Red Wings have bolstered their right-side scoring with the re-signing of Patrick Kane and the addition of Tarasenko.
Additionally, young player Jonatan Berggren, who can play either wing, scored 26 goals and added 36 assists in 12 games for the Red Wings and 53 games for the Grand Rapids Griffins during the 2023-24 season. Berggren, along with Seider and Raymond, received qualifying offers from the Red Wings, giving the team the right of first refusal or draft choice compensation if they sign elsewhere.
Ahead of Red Wings development camp, Yzerman hinted at a significant but ultimately unfulfilled interest in another player, likely Steven Stamkos. Stamkos, who played most of his career with the Tampa Bay Lightning under Yzerman, signed a four-year, $32 million contract with the Nashville Predators.
Looking ahead, the Red Wings are expected to look very different in 2024-25. With the signing of Tarasenko and the upcoming contract extensions for Seider and Raymond, the team aims to build on the 2023-24 season, where they were eliminated from playoff contention on the last day. With a full season from Alex DeBrincat, the Red Wings might make a strong push to return to the Stanley Cup playoffs.