Detroit Red Wings sign Vladimir Tarasenko for two years, $9.5 million

Vladimir Tarasenko will stay in the Atlantic Division to start the 2024-25 season with the Detroit Red Wings, who announced they inked the veteran sniper to a two-year, $9.5 million contract on Wednesday.

The two-year pact gives Tarasenko some job security after he signed a one-year “prove-it” deal with the Ottawa Senators last offseason. The 32-year-old showed he has gas left in the tank with 23 goals and 55 points during a campaign that ended in a trade to the Florida Panthers and a second Stanley Cup.

Detroit lost 90 combined points by letting wingers David Perron (Ottawa) and Daniel Sprong (unsigned) walk in free agency and will hope Tarasenko, formerly of the rival St. Louis Blues, can help cover the difference.

Tarasenko (6’1, 219 lbs) adds a heaviness to the Red Wings’ talented top-six that it previously lacked; star players Lucas Raymond, Patrick Kane, and Alex DeBrincat all scored at a better pace than the Russian last season but offer little in the way of physicality.

Now with his fifth team in three seasons, Tarasenko also brings a winning pedigree to a Detroit outfit desperate to return to the Stanley Cup Playoff.

Last season, the Wings thought they made the postseason for the first time since 2015 when Perron scored a dramatic goal in game No. 82, but a Capitals win against the Flyers meant it was all for naught. 

Though the 293-goal-scorer Tarasenko completes a formidable forward group in the Motor City, fans will wonder whether GM Steve Yzerman has plans to improve their leaky defense, which cost them playoff hockey in 2023-24.

‘Stevie Wonder’ shipped out Jake Walman earlier in the offseason to clear cap space, but after a rumored trade for New York Rangers’ captain Jacob Trouba stalled out, the other shoe has yet to drop.