Speaking with TSN 1200 today (audio link), Senators GM Pierre Dorion confirmed that he has been in contact with the new agent for free agent winger Vladimir Tarasenko. The 31-year-old had been a speculative target for Ottawa depending on what they received in the Alex DeBrincat deal. While Ottawa did pick up winger Dominik Kubalik in that swap, adding Tarasenko would certainly go a longer way toward replacing DeBrincat’s production. However, with around just $5MM in cap room per CapFriendly, it might be difficult to fit Tarasenko onto their roster without clearing out another player first, something Dorion alluded to. He also mentioned that if they look to add a forward, they’ll want one with some term on his contract which suggests that they wouldn’t necessarily be looking to add Tarasenko on a one-year pact.
More from Ottawa:
- Also from Dorion’s interview, he indicated that talks are ongoing with their two remaining unsigned forwards, Shane Pinto and Egor Sokolov. Pinto is coming off a 20-goal season but injuries have limited him to just 99 career NHL appearances so accordingly, a short-term bridge contract seems like the most probable outcome with an AAV that checks in around the $2MM mark. Meanwhile, Sokolov spent most of last season with AHL Belleville, leading them in scoring with 59 points in 70 games while also picking up his first NHL goal and assist in five contests with the big club.
- The Senators have parted ways with assistant GM Trent Mann, reports Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. He had been with the organization since 2010 when he joined Ottawa as a part-time scout. He eventually worked his way up the ladder, taking over as their top amateur scout in 2016 but it appears that running their most recent draft class will be his final task in that role. Mann’s brother Troy was also let go by the Sens earlier this season as he was relieved of his duties as head coach with Belleville in mid-February.
Yeah, it’d be more than just the one contract they’d need to move out for Tarasenko. They’ve signed only 19 NHL contracts, so even if they got the other two for minimum salaries, Ottawa will have about $4 MM left. Unless they let Pinto walk altogether, they’d not only have to move salary to get Tarasenko, they’d have to move out a key piece — are they quite ready to give up on Joshua Norris, for instance?
They have 11fw, 7d, and 2g according to CF with roughly 5M left to spend. Realistically they only need to shed a 2-3M contract to make Tank a possibility. Still tough, but doable.
The Sens don’t need Tarasenko, They need a better coach, An arena in downtown Ottawa, And better defense.
The tank is not worth 4 or 5 million a year give him only 1 million… Veterans should know this want to win take less
Yes, Ottawa’s long tradition of three straight Stanley Cups from 22-24 demands that he give a huge discount to be part of the winning tradition.
Oh wait, that was 100 years ago…
Tarasenko may need to take a one year deal to prove himself. His decline in St. Louis was somewhat confirmed in NY. He was on the top line, but the numbers weren’t there. One year at $4M would be my take, which will give his new agents time to work with fresh caps and a new market.