Wild add wing Vladimir Tarasenko in trade with Red Wings
The Minnesota Wild added an aging All-Star in a trade with the Detroit Red Wings on Monday.
The Wild swapped future considerations for 33-year-old Vladimir Tarasenko, the team announced.
Tarasenko is a four-time All-Star, last earning the honorific during the 2022-2023 season. The Wild, Tarasenko's sixth team in four seasons, are counting on a bounce-back performance out of him after he had just 11 goals and 22 assists with Detroit, his lowest point total for any season of his career in which he played at least half of the games. He hasn't topped 30 goals in a season since 2021-2022.
"He's a player that is in need of a fresh start," general manager Bill Guerin said. "The contract and the money and everything just kind of fits, I think. We're a place that Vladdy can come and hopefully get back to the form that he's had in past years ... I just think there's a lot we can do to help him."
The deal cleared the space for the Red Wings to re-sign Patrick Kane. Tarasenko has one year left on his contract at a salary cap hit of $4.75 million.
Tarasenko spent the first 10 years of his career with the St. Louis Blues.
The trade is the only move of note for the Wild so far this offseason, who had no first-round pick in the NHL draft, but are finally mostly free from the dead money incurred by buying out Zach Parise and Ryan Suter several years ago.
The Wild's longtime home will be known as the Grand Casino Arena starting this season after Xcel Energy's naming rights for the stadium expired.