Senators send scoring winger Vladimir Tarasenko to Florida Panthers

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Vladimir Tarasenko is headed to the Sunshine State to chase a second Stanley Cup ring.

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The Ottawa Senators winger was dealt to the Florida Panthers on Wednesday morning in exchange for two draft picks as the dominos began to fall with the National Hockey League trade deadline set for Friday at 3 p.m. EST.

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The Panthers stepped up their efforts in the past 24 hours to acquire the 32-year-old Tarasenko, who signed with the Senators as an unrestricted free agent in August and is making $5 million US on an expiring deal.

While the Senators retained 50% of Tarasenko’s remaining salary, the club will get a 2025 third-round pick and a conditional 2024 fourth-round selection from Florida in exchange. The latter will be a third-round pick in 2026 if the Panthers go on to win the Stanley Cup.

This is the first move Steve Staios, the club’s president of hockey operations and general manager, has made since he took over the full-time duties on Nov. 1. He has spent a lot of time working the phones in the last four months and wanted to get assets in return for a pending UFA.

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Though many will consider the return underwhelming because the Senators didn’t get a roster player in return, Postmedia reported Monday that Florida was Tarasenko’s preferred destination and with a full no trade clause (NTC) he had control over where he was dealt.

Tarasenko’s wife, and two toddlers, make their home in the Fort Lauderdale area and the Panthers are looking for another top-nine forward. He’s had a strong season with 17 goals and 41 points in 57 games with Ottawa.

The Vegas Golden Knights, Carolina Hurricanes, Edmonton Oilers and New York Rangers were among the teams that were pushing for Tarasenko.

If he essentially wasn’t willing to wave his NTC to go anywhere else then Staios didn’t have a whole lot of options despite the interest the organization had from five or six teams.

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Getting something in return for Tarasenko is better than the option of letting him walk away for nothing and that was the situation the Senators were facing if they didn’t do this.

In fact, that makes no sense whatsoever to have Tarasenko finish the year here just to help the Senators finish a little higher in the standings. The club was 19 points out of the final wildcard spot in the East and is going nowhere fast with the end of the season on the horizon.

Why wouldn’t Tarasenko want to go to Florida?

They are the No. 1 team in the NHL right now with 90 points and he’ll get to play a big role. The belief is Tarasenko will suit up on the second-line with centre Sam Bennett and winger Matthew Tkachuk. This will give the Panthers more depth headed into the post-season.

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Panthers’ general manager Bill Zito was pleased to be able acquire Tarasenko, who won a Stanley Cup with the St. Louis Blues in 2019. He finished with 11 goals and 17 points in 26 playoff games with the Blues that spring and can help provide offence for Florida.

“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,” said Zito. “We are excited for him to join our team, and to compete for the Stanley Cup once again.”

Tarasenko was given the news of the deal with the team in Anaheim preparing to face the Ducks at the Honda Centre Wednesday night. The club recalled centre Matthew Highmore from its American Hockey League affiliate in Belleville earlier in the day in case a trade was made.

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If Tarasenko hadn’t been moved in the morning then he would have been a scratch Wednesday night.

Tarasenko was a good soldier and an effective player for the Senators and some are wondering why the organization didn’t just keep him? The reality is the club was willing to have discussions on an extension with his camp, but he had no plans to stay here and wasn’t going to sign.

He’ll be an unrestricted free agent July 1 but it’s doubtful he’ll be back with the Senators again during his career.

Looking back, signing Tarasenko was likely ill-advised in the first place. Yes, he fit in well in the dressing room and had a strong presence on the ice, but the Senators were already tight to the salary cap when he agreed to the deal and this left the club with no flexibility.

Tarasenko was a good soldier for the Senators in the time he spent in the organization. He was able the young players, had a good attitude and tried to play well at both ends of the ice. It didn’t work out and that was the risk when the club signed him in the first place.

The Senators got some draft capital in return and Tarasenko gets to be with his family while competing for a Cup this spring.

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