Florida Panthers
Would the Florida Panthers Make a Run at Vladimir Tarasenko?
Although it appears as if Bill Zito and the Florida Panthers are done working for the summer, could Vladimir Tarasenko remain a possibility to come to Sunrise?
Zito has already done the heavy lifting this offseason, acquiring a number of players — including defensemen Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Dmitry Kulikov as well as forward Evan Rodrigues.
But with Tarasenko still out there, it begs the questions whether the Panthers could grab the talented winger.
It would take some serious work, but Zito and his front office have worked their magic late in the summer before.
Just last year, for instance, the Panthers pulled off a blockbuster deal which brought Matthew Tkachuk to town.
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Tarasenko is another high-end player who, as of this publishing, has yet to find a home.
To make something like this work, Tarasenko would have to want to come to the Panthers at a discount price.
Florida is up against the salary cap but with the probability Aaron Ekblad and/or Brandon Montour start the season on long-term injured reserve giving the Panthers some cap relief up until said player returns to the lineup.
That at least gives the Panthers a little time to figure things out.
Of course, would Tarasenko be willing to trade some up-front money now to sign with a contender?
According to Larry Brooks of the New York Post, Tarasenko has already turned down contract offers in the $6 million range which, if that is still too low for him, Florida is out of the running.
Have learned that Tarasenko had multiple offers from clubs ranging from contenders to rebuilds in the $5.5-to-$6M per category at varying lengths. Rejected all—Carolina was one—and then fired agent. Kind of strange. (Had wanted to remain with Rangers but there was simply no space
— Larry Brooks (@NYP_Brooksie) July 5, 2023
But, if he were willing to gamble a bit and take something along the lines of $4 million with the understanding more would come next year when the salary cap goes up, perhaps the Panthers could be a player.
It is a long shot, sure, but Tarasenko could find success with the Panthers and parlay that into a big deal either here or somewhere else in 2024.
Tarasenko is 31, but when healthy, is one of the top scorers in the league.
After spending the entirety of his career in St. Louis, he was acquired in a big deal with the New York Rangers at the deadline where he scored 10 goals with 29 points in 38 games.
He would have liked to stay with the Rangers but their cap issues have kept that from happening.
At the end of the day, Tarasenko will likely go to a team which can pay him something close to what he wants — probably on a one-year deal allowing him to go fishing in deeper waters next summer.
FLORIDA PANTHERS ON DECK
- Now: Free agency period is open
- Mid-September: Training Camp, South Florida
- Sept. 25: Preseason starts; Doubleheader v. Nashville @ Sunrise
- Oct. 7: Preseason ends; v. Tampa Bay Lightning @ Sunrise
- Oct. 12: Start of 2023-24 Regular Season at Minnesota Wild
- Oct. 19: 2023-24 Home Opener vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
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Hey GR, what about Dumba? Would cost less and we still have a need at RD to start the year.
I have no idea why we didn’t go after him to begin with. There must be something else, another deciding factor, that we are not privy to.
$$$$$ … you can’t pay him $6-plus with all the other stuff that needs fixing. He is a luxury item. If they could work something out, fine, but I don’t think he wants to work anything out. I was just floating the idea.
I think if they wanted him they already would have signed him…
I don’t understand how Tarasenko is an option. Last year, we would have been over the cap and lost someone if Hornqvist didn’t go out for the season when he did. We would be gambling that either someone else with an expensive contract goes to LTIR once Ekblabd and Monty come back, or we are put in the same boat of losing someone else to keep Tarasenko ( ie Bennett, or Reinhart).
When those guys come back some of the defense men that were signed would have to go down or to another team. This could be 2-3million With Tarasenko at 4 mil and filling a top 6 spot one of the new forward signees would start in the minors freeing another million. So overall it would be close to a wash any more than 4 mil would require someone with significant salary to go on LTIR.
I think the thinking there was injuries tend to happen throughout the season and if something were to happen, that’s where you would eat that additional cap space up but if no injury were to happen to a major player, which would more than likely be the case, they would just probably do what Tampa did a few years back and leave Aaron on LTIR for the entire season and only bring him back for the playoffs, when the cap goes away. For me, I would rather Tarensenko.
When Tampa did it with Kucherov, it was considered a full season injury. If Ekblad is a 2 month injury, they can’t stretch it throughout the year just because they want to add another player. If the injuries to Ek or Monty are ones that would take a season to heal, then they have the luxury to add a big salary, but otherwise they take the risk of losing someone in the process.
They have not released any official statement on how much time either will miss, nothing has come out of the organization on that, ithere injuries were revealed by the team, but not the extent of each, lt’s all been conjecture by the media and fans. The Panthers haven’t done anything, officially, nor should they, if that is there plan, and who knows if it is , they wouldn’t have to make a move (placing one or both on LTIR) until they either decide to sign someone else (taransenko?), or until the end of camp.
Kucherov was hurt at the start of a 56-game season; when he was healthy there were 15 games left and TBL safely in playoff spot. No reason to activate him in such a weird setup. This ain’t that. This is a full 82 game season.
If Ekblad and Montour both miss 20 games that’s $2.75M they gain in cap space through LTIR ($11M x .25 for missing a quarter of the season). You can also count on Barkov missing 15-20 games, so that’s another $2M-$2.5M. I can see Tkuchuk (ribs) and Bobrovsky (whatever) each taking a turn on LTIR to create additional space. There are ways to do this if the owner is willing to spend over the cap. Tampa and Vegas has been doing this for years, we should do the same
George, you’ve been listed as a source on several sights I go to for general league info that the cats are in the Terensenko sweepstakes, even though your article was purely speculative, even your price and term (4 million a year for a one year deal) that you assumed the cats would offer was quoted on these sites, now let’s just say Vladimir’s people happened to see one or two of these articles, perhaps even your article, next thing you know they’re talking to each other and BAM, Vlads a cat….lol. All thanks to G.Richards. who knows, stranger things have… Read more »
Haha. It was purely speculative. Again, he is a luxury item the Panthers really don’t need. If they could work something out, fine, but they’re not losing sleep figuring this one out.