A lot of fans were hoping no moves would be made by the Panthers before the deadline. The team chemistry is great, the level of play is ready for the playoffs, and the Cats are currently number 1 in the NHL with 3 points over Vancouver & Boston and a game in hand. Making a trade before the deadline wasn’t necessarily essential for Florida. Bill Zito had other plans, and today it was announced that the Florida Panthers will get Vladimir Tarasenko from Ottawa in exchange for a 2024 conditional 4th round pick and a 2025 3rd round pick. The 2024 pick will become a 2026 3rd round pick if Florida wins the Stanley Cup this season. Ottawa is also retaining 50% of Tarasenko’s contract. Will Lockwood is currently placed on waivers.
Tarasenko was a 1st round pick in 2010 and was drafted by the St. Louis Blues. He then went on to help the Blues win the Stanley Cup in the 2018-2019 season. Tarasenko has appeared in 97 career Playoff Games with 44 goals and 64 points. He’s been to 4 NHL All-Star games, 3 consecutive from 2015-2017, and was at the 2023 All-Star Game that was in South Florida. Zito said, “Vladimir is a highly skilled and experienced scoring winger who provides our club with another dynamic offensive option as we embark on the remainder of our season.” So far this season, with the Senators, Tarasenko has 41 points in 57 games, 17 goals, and a +13 rating. Tarasenko was teammates with Niko Mikkola in St. Louis and has been on multiple Russian National Teams with Sergei Bobrovsky and Dmitry Kulikov.
