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Vladimir Tarasenko

More On Alex DeBrincat, Vladimir Tarasenko

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Ottawa Senators winger Alex DeBrincat was expected to be one of the hottest commodities on the offseason trade front for the second season in a row. After heading over to the Sens by way of Chicago last season, his offensive production took a small step back in 2022-23, and he then informed Ottawa he wasn’t willing to sign a long-term extension with them – or anywhere in Canada. Yesterday, general manager Pierre Dorion admitted to Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch that he’d granted DeBrincat’s camp permission to speak to teams about an extension on “multiple occasions,” but that proposed deals had fallen through at that point.

Garrioch was able to independently confirm that today, saying that DeBrincat’s desired contract extension is what’s holding up a trade going through – not the offers Ottawa is receiving for trade returns.

DeBrincat’s agent, Jeff Jackson, has been granted permission by the Senators to engage in contract extension talks with at least three different teams, Garrioch said. He’s reportedly seeking an eight-year, $70.2MM deal, coming in just under the $70.4MM extension Timo Meier signed with the New Jersey Devils last month. That would be an $8.775MM cap hit for DeBrincat, with Garrioch saying teams are trying to get him signed to a contract closer to the $8MM mark.

Obviously, the ongoing delay in resolving DeBrincat’s contract situation is hampering other important business for the Senators. Clearing his $9MM cap hit for the upcoming season would free up significant cap space, enabling the team to sign other players ahead of a 2023-24 season where the expectation is to unequivocally turn a corner in their rebuild – including, potentially, Vladimir Tarasenko, who The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta says is nearing a decision on where to sign. Ottawa remains in the running for his services, as do the Carolina Hurricanes (who’ve already added Dmitry Orlov and Michael Bunting as UFAs).

The New York Islanders and Anaheim Ducks have shown interest in acquiring DeBrincat, Garrioch reiterates, with offers likely to include a roster player that can contribute immediately.

Free Agent Focus: New York Rangers

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Free agency is less than a month away and teams are looking ahead to when it opens.  There will be several impact players set to hit the open market in July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well.  We continue our look around the NHL with an overview of the free agent situation for the Rangers.

Key Restricted Free Agents

F Alexis Lafrenière – Just under three years ago the Rangers watched the lottery balls bounce their way as they were fortunate enough to win the sweepstakes for Lafrenière. At the time the 21-year-old looked like a can’t miss first overall pick having been dominant in the QMJHL and the World Juniors. But now just three years later the Rangers are facing quite the dilemma with the young forward. On one hand he is one of their few valuable trade chips, however, given their cap crunch his cap hit will likely give them a functional player on a reasonable contract.

Lafrenière has played a lot of bottom six minutes and hasn’t really seen the offensive opportunities that other first overall picks have had, however he also hasn’t shown the same skill level or skating as some of the other first overall picks before him.

Lafrenière had a career high 39 points this season in 81 games and did a much better job driving play than he had in previous seasons. However, he also enjoyed much more favorable deployment than in previous seasons which leads one to wonder if he will have better numbers in a different role under a new head coach.

Regardless of who is signing his checks next season Lafrenière is likely to be playing under a two- or three-year bridge deal with a cap hit like the $2.1MM that teammate Kaapo Kakko is playing under.

D K’Andre Miller – Miller’s next contract is going to make for a very interesting negotiation. He is the Rangers best left shot defenseman and played at a very high level for the past two seasons including this past year where he posted nine goals and 34 assists in 79 games. While 43 points total isn’t elite for a defenseman, his 38 even strength points are. Miller saw very little powerplay time and still managed to post very strong offensive numbers.

While his offensive numbers are good, he and partner Jacob Trouba went through some long stretches this season where they couldn’t keep the puck out of their own net. While they turned it around, Miller’s defensive struggles could work against him in negotiations. It’ll be interesting to see how the Rangers navigate their negotiation with the 23-year-old St. Paul native. It’s unlikely they will give him the Rasmus Dahlin contract at a cap hit of $6MM, but an average annual value between $4MM and $5.5MM seems very possible.

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

F Patrick Kane – The Rangers acquired the three-time Stanley Cup champion at the trade deadline this past winter and while things didn’t end up the way they’d hoped, they didn’t give up a lot of assets to acquire the player. Kane recently had surgery to resurface his hip and will be ready to play in 4-6 months. He makes for a curious free agent because any team that fancies themselves a contender likely won’t give out a big cap number until they can see skate again after his recovery. If this is the case, Kane could wait until after his recovery to see who the contenders are next season before inking a deal. The issue there for Kane would be that most teams will be close to the cap ceiling by the time the seasons starts. Kane is still a very productive forward (when healthy), this past season he put up 21 goals and 36 assists in 73 games during the regular season and followed it up with a goal and five assists in seven playoff games. If he were healthy Kane would probably be looking at a three-year deal worth around $6MM. But, because of his injury I think he will need to wait and sign a one-year deal closer to the start of the season or in season once he has recovers from his injury.

F Vladimir Tarasenko – Tarasenko arrived from St. Louis to a lot of fanfare in New York but couldn’t help the Rangers get over hump in the Eastern Conference. The 31-year-old put up 18 goals and 32 assists in 69 games split between the Blues and the Rangers and struggled in the playoffs putting up just four points in seven games. The Rangers would probably like to sign Tarasenko to a short-term deal but given their lack of cap space they likely can’t pursue the winger. Tarasenko will be interesting negotiation as he struggled to drive play last season and isn’t the player he once was. He’ll still find work, and a good little pay day, but it won’t be at anything close to the $7.5MM he made on his previous deal.

G Jaroslav Halák – It’s hard to believe that Jaro Halák is still chugging along at the tail end of his NHL career. He has struggled in recent years, but the veteran continues to find work in the NHL on one-year contracts. Halak hasn’t posted a .905 save percentage in any of the past three seasons but has been able to stay slightly above average in expected save percentage. Currently Halák is a good backup option for a team that is looking for average goaltending 20-25 nights of the year. He will likely be able to fetch a one-year contract at around $1MM.

Other UFAs: Niko Mikkola, Tyler Motte

Projected Cap Space

The Rangers emerged from a quick rebuild just a few seasons ago and had plenty of draft capital and a lot of salary cap flexibility. Now just a few years later the Rangers are in a very precarious salary cap situation as they have just $11.8MM in cap space with 14 players signed for next year. While that is a bit alarming, the good news for New York fans is that most of the core is signed for at least the next two years to fairly reasonable contracts. That being said, there are a few deals that general manager Chris Drury would probably like the opportunity to dump should an opening arise.

The club likely won’t have room to extend Kane or Tarasenko without moving out a very good player and given the age of both players they may want to pass on doing so. The Rangers are also two years out from having to give superstar netminder Igor Shesterkin a new deal, one which could potentially eclipse $9MM annually if he can duplicate his 2021-22 season in the next two seasons. With all of that going on, it’s unlikely that there will be big changes this summer on Broadway.

 

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.  Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.

Snapshots: Rangers, Lucic, Hrabal

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Mark 2023 down as a formative offseason for the New York Rangers, who are looking to stamp out any doubts next season after a disappointing First Round exit against the New Jersey Devils. While they’re already looking for a new head coach after firing Gerard Gallant, general manager Chris Drury has some offseason player personnel decisions to make, too, after going all in at this year’s trade deadline.

In his latest column for The Athletic, Arthur Staple listed forwards Patrick Kane and Vladimir Tarasenko, as well as defenseman Niko Mikkola, as the least likely returnees to the Rangers roster in 2023-24. All pending unrestricted free agents, they’ll likely be too rich for the Rangers’ blood, at least in terms of what they’ll offer to the team over the life of their next contracts.

As Staple concurs, Kane’s health is an obvious question mark moving forward, and Mikkola’s cap hit on his next deal will price the Rangers out of what they can afford for a depth defenseman, especially when offensive acumen from the blueline is an area of need on the third pair. Tarasenko is likely a pure cap casualty, with a strong showing down the stretch boosting his value on the open market.

  • Speaking with CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal, pending Calgary Flames unrestricted free agent Milan Lucic hinted at a potential return to his hometown of Vancouver this offseason. While Calgary hasn’t given any indication of whether they’d like to retain Lucic, the veteran forward likely wouldn’t say no if the Canucks came calling after July 1. Lucic will be 35 by the time next season starts and had just seven goals and 19 points in 77 games with Calgary last season.
  • Czech goaltender Michael Hrabal, one of the best prospects available in net for the 2023 NHL Draft, has committed to the University of Massachusetts for the 2023-24 season. The 6-foot-6 18-year-old posted a .920 save percentage in five appearances for Czechia at the World Juniors this year, also earning USHL All-Rookie Team honors with the Omaha Lancers (9-13-4, .908 SV%, 31 games played). Hrabal could hear his name called as early as the late first round.

Libor Hajek, Linus Hogberg Clear Waivers

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Feb 10: Both players have cleared waivers. That means Hajek can be sent to the minor leagues, and Hogberg is free to pursue other opportunities overseas.

Feb 9: As we await the official announcement of Vladimir Tarasenko to the New York Rangers, the team has started clearing some space. Libor Hajek has been placed on waivers, according to Chris Johnston of NorthStar Bets. The Philadelphia Flyers have also placed Linus Hogberg on unconditional waivers for the purpose of a contract termination.

Hajek, 25, came into the Rangers organization with high hopes as part of the return for Ryan McDonagh and J.T. Miller, but never lived up to expectations. The 2016 second-round pick has 110 games played over parts of five seasons (all with New York), and has produced just 12 points, averaging fewer than 15 minutes in his appearances.

While he was never supposed to be a big offensive threat, the 6’2″ defenseman hasn’t been effective in his own end, either, At this point, he was a potential candidate to go unqualified in the summer. That doesn’t guarantee he’ll pass through, though, as teams often give high draft picks (especially defensemen) extra chances to prove their worth at the NHL level. On a one-year, $800K contract, it might be worthwhile for a rebuilding club.

Hogberg, meanwhile, played just five games for the Flyers last season and had been buried in the organizational depth chart this year, sitting in the press box even at the AHL level. The 24-year-old will likely return to Sweden to continue his career overseas after the short stint in North America.

Snapshots: Tarasenko, Anderson, Puljujarvi

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Hitting the ice today as a member of the New York Rangers, Vladimir Tarasenko was skating beside Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad, as many expected. The former St. Louis Blues star spoke with the media, including Mollie Walker of the New York Post after practice, and confirmed what had been reported over the last few months:

There was no chance I was staying in St. Louis. No deal was offered, so I knew I was going to be moved. I talked with Artemi and they want me here. I want to be here, too…it’s a chance to win a Cup again. 

The good vibes were clear when Panarin explained how happy he was to have a long-time friend join the team. Tarasenko, of course, is only signed through the end of this season at the moment. A pending unrestricted free agent, it will be interesting to see if the Rangers will offer him the extension that never came in St. Louis.

  • The Montreal Canadiens are sort of flying under the radar as a potential seller at this year’s deadline, mostly because of their lack of expiring contracts. Arpon Basu of The Athletic argues that if Josh Anderson is drawing interest, though, the team has to investigate what they could get in return. The 28-year-old is signed through the 2026-27 season and carries a cap hit of $5.5MM. It hasn’t worked out exactly as planned, with Anderson’s offensive game never really materializing past his individual power and speed. He has 25 assists in 170 games with the team, but still is so intriguing because of his heavy, made-for-the-playoffs style.
  • With the Edmonton Oilers approaching something of a cap crunch, as Kailer Yamamoto gets healthy enough to return from LTIR, Chris Johnston openly wondered on TSN’s Insider Trading about whether Jesse Puljujarvi would end up on waivers. As Jason Gregor of TSN points out, if Yamamoto is coming back this weekend, today is probably the day Edmonton uses waivers.

New York Rangers Acquire Vladimir Tarasenko, Niko Mikkola

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The trade deadline is still a few weeks away, but the New York Rangers aren’t waiting around. Vladimir Tarasenko and Niko Mikkola have been acquired from the St. Louis Blues in exchange for a conditional 2023 first-round pick, a conditional 2024 fourth-round pick, Sammy Blais, and Hunter Skinner. The Blues will retain 50% of Tarasenko’s contract, which expires at the end of the season.

The first-round selection will be the later of the two the Rangers currently have (NYR and DAL). Since the Dallas pick is also top-10 protected from the Nils Lundkvist trade, if it moves to 2024, the Blues will receive the later of the two next year. The fourth will become a third-round pick if the Rangers make the playoffs this season.

It’s a significant return for the Blues, but likely still one that fans will be disappointed with. Tarasenko has been a favorite in St. Louis for more than a decade, and was a key part of the franchise’s first (and only) Stanley Cup championship in 2019. The 31-year-old sniper has eclipsed the 30-goal mark in six different seasons, including last year when he came back from multiple shoulder injuries to post 34 goals and 82 points in 75 games.

This year hasn’t gone quite as well, with just ten tallies and 29 points in 38 games for the big Russian, but he is still one of the most feared shooters in the league and should fit right in next to good friend Artemi Panarin in New York. The Rangers had been linked to other players like Patrick Kane and Timo Meier to fill that spot but will end up with a player who not so long ago requested a trade out of St. Louis.

Tarasenko needed to waive his no-trade clause for this to happen, but that never seemed like much of an issue for a contending, big market team like New York. He’ll now get to showcase his skills down the stretch and try to land another huge contract on the open market. His current eight-year, $60MM deal will expire in a few months, and while the Rangers could potentially extend him, they have some other negotiations on the horizon. This could end up being a pure rental, if Tarasenko is demanding anything close to the $7.5MM cap hit he currently carries.

Not to be overlooked in this trade is Mikkola, who had drummed up his own interest as the deadline approached. The 26-year-old defenseman is a big, physical presence that can handle tough minutes against good players, even if he isn’t going to contribute offensively. The Rangers already have enough defenders who can move the puck – adding a player like Mikkola will give them some added depth for what they hope is a long playoff run.

Blais heads back to St. Louis after a short unsuccessful stint in New York. The 26-year-old was part of the Pavel Buchnevich trade in the summer of 2021, and was expected to be a heart-and-soul bottom sixer for years to come. Instead, he suffered an early injury that limited him to just 14 games in 2021-22 and has never been able to recapture the upside he showed in St. Louis. Through 54 games for New York, Blais failed to score even a single goal, recording nine points along the way.

Skinner, 21, has split this season between the ECHL and AHL, and is likely only included to balance out the contracts. The fourth-round pick has two points in eight games for the Hartford Wolf Pack, and is far from adding any value at the NHL level.

Adding a first-round pick in this year’s draft is a big addition for St. Louis though, especially for a player who they had no real chance of re-signing. A split was coming one way or the other with Tarasenko, and now the Blues have some extra ammunition to use in the offseason. As we discussed recently in the St. Louis deadline primer, general manager Doug Armstrong has followed this playbook before. Sell expiring veteran contract for picks, flip picks into valuable NHL talent at the draft. We’ll have to see if that’s what is in store this time, but it’s no rebuild in St. Louis. With Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou locked in long-term, the team will build around a new core and see if they can get back to the playoffs next season.

It also isn’t the end of the dealing for Armstrong. The team still has Ryan O’Reilly and Ivan Barbashev, among others, to trade at the deadline if necessary. In the span of a few weeks the cupboards in St. Louis could look a lot more full.

Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff was first to break the news that Tarasenko had been traded. 

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

West Notes: Tarasenko, Kane, Brossoit

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Winger Vladimir Tarasenko is representing the Blues at the All-Star Game but with him being in the final year of his contract, it’s fair to wonder how much longer he’ll be a part of the team.  Speaking with Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic (subscription link), the 31-year-old declined to comment if his trade request dating back to last season has been rescinded while also indicating that there have been no recent discussions about a possible contract extension.  Tarasenko has 10 goals and 19 assists in 38 games so far this season and is expected to be one of the more sought-after rentals for next month’s trade deadline if the Blues are willing to pay down up to half of his $7.5MM AAV.

More from the Western Conference:

  • Blackhawks winger Patrick Kane has long been viewed as one of the likely big deals at the trade deadline but The Athletic’s Arthur Staple suggests (subscription link) that there’s an expectation around the league that Kane needs hip surgery which is going to limit his market. If that’s the case, if he opts to play through the injury and wait to have the procedure in the offseason, there’s a good chance he’d miss the start of next season which could hurt his value in free agency.  With that in mind, it’s possible that Kane could decide to have the surgery now which would take a big name off the trade market in the coming weeks.
  • Golden Knights goaltender Laurent Brossoit admitted to Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Sun that he sometimes feels frustrated that he hasn’t had a chance to get back up to Vegas. He cleared waivers back in November after being cleared to return from his hip injury and he has been down with the Silver Knights ever since.  The 29-year-old has a 2.77 GAA with a .906 SV% in 22 games with Henderson and is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer so a return to the top level would certainly help his case on the open market.

Snapshots: Motte, Tarasenko, Guzda

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Yesterday, we covered how Ottawa Senators netminder Cam Talbot could be a name in play around the trade deadline. Today, The Fourth Period has added Senators forward Tyler Motte’s name to the mix, reporting that Senators GM Pierre Dorion has “started to get engaged in trade discussions” involving players such as Motte.

The Senators have been long-rumored to be seeking a blueline upgrade, and perhaps dealing Motte is one way they can reach that goal. Motte, who will turn 28 in March, signed with the Senators this past summer on a one-year, $1.35MM deal. He’s a well-regarded bottom-sixer who was dealt as a rental last year, helping the New York Rangers make a run to the Eastern Conference Final. Perhaps he’ll find himself in a similar situation this year.

Some other notes from across the NHL:

  • It has been widely reported that the New Jersey Devils are seeking to upgrade their forward corps by adding a top-six winger this deadline season. One option for the team could be St. Louis Blues winger Vladimir Tarasenko. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman spoke on the 32 Thoughts podcast about this, stating that the Devils have had interest in acquiring Tarasenko in the past. Timo Meier’s name is also in the mix, but now it seems possible that the Devils could be targeting Tarasenko as well.
  • The Florida Panthers have sent netminder Mack Guzda back to the team’s AHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers. With Spencer Knight seemingly close to returning to the ice for Florida, Guzda will head back to Charlotte, where he has a .911 save percentage in 17 games.

Pavel Buchnevich Undergoes Minor Surgery

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The St. Louis Blues made the expected moves of activating Torey Krug and Vladimir Tarasenko today, but it came with some bad news. Pavel Buchnevich has been moved to injured reserve after a minor surgical procedure to address an ankle infection. Buchnevich will be re-evaluated after the All-Star break.

Some would argue that there is no more important player to the Blues than Buchnevich, who leads all forwards in ice time and has registered 38 points in 38 games this season. Losing him for any length of time will be difficult, though the team did stress the minor nature of the procedure.

On the bright side, Krug and Tarasenko will return after missing long stretches, helping to cover Buchnevich’s absence. It’s the latter that will be so interesting to watch as the trade deadline approaches and his time in St. Louis potentially comes to an end.

Tarasenko has only ever played for the Blues, and has reached the 30-goal plateau in six of his seven full seasons. This year, when healthy, he has still been excellent, racking up 10 goals and 29 points in 34 games. While he may not be the dynamic, game-changing power forward of a few years ago, Tarasenko would still be an impressive pickup for a contender at the deadline.

Of course, the Blues still have eyes on the playoffs themselves. Sitting at 23-21-3 on the year, they aren’t out of the Central Division race by any means. Getting two key veterans back should only help that chase, starting tonight with a game against the Buffalo Sabres.

Latest On The St. Louis Blues

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A pair of valuable assets are very close to returning to the St. Louis Blues lineup, says Inside the Blues’ Lou Korac. Forward Vladimir Tarasenko and defenseman Torey Krug are projected to return to the St. Louis lineup when they host the Buffalo Sabres tomorrow night.

Both have missed double-digit sets of games, with Tarasenko missing the past ten contests and Krug missing the past 13. Tarasenko returning early from his hand injury well in advance of the March 3 trade deadline could pay dividends for the Blues, allowing him to showcase himself and build on his 70-point full-season pace to increase his potential trade value. The Blues are 6-4-0 in their past ten games without Tarasenko, but they’re still just two games over .500 and 11th in the Western Conference. With a pair of highly-valued pending free agents in Tarasenko and Ryan O’Reilly, the Blues would be wise to sell if they’re still this far removed from the playoff picture in a month’s time.

Getting Krug back is also important for a defense core slowly getting healthy. He has the highest points per game among all Blues defensemen, just a small bit ahead of normal partner Justin Faulk. His return should allow Niko Mikkola to slot back into a more comfortable bottom-pairing role.

Korac also notes that Tarasenko’s compatriot, Pavel Buchnevich, is questionable for the game against the Sabres with what he described as a “lingering” lower-body injury.

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