Vladimir Tarasenko is heading to the open market, and the Colorado Avalanche are already being floated as a possible destination for the two-time Stanley Cup champion.
He spent this past season with the Minnesota Wild, posting 23 goals and 47 points in 75 games at a $4,750,000 cap hit. At 34, the production was still real.
-
Minnesota finished 46-24-12, seventh overall with 104 points. Under GM Bill Guerin and coach John Hynes, the Wild beat Dallas in six games in the first round before falling to Colorado in five in the second round.
Tarasenko added 2 goals and 5 points in 11 playoff games. Solid depth production, nothing more.
The question now is where he lands. At 34 with a Stanley Cup pedigree, he fits a very specific profile: a contender needing a proven veteran on a short-term deal who won't complain about his role.
Colorado is the name being mentioned. The Avalanche finished first overall at 55-16-11 with 121 points. They scored 302 goals, best in the league. GM Chris MacFarland runs a team built to win now, and a winger with Tarasenko's playoff experience fits that model.
Avalanche have the cap room and the window to make this work
Nathan MacKinnon put up 127 points this season. Martin Necas added 100. Gabriel Landeskog contributed 35 points in just 60 games while returning from injury. The top six in Colorado is already dangerous.
Tarasenko wouldn't need to be a featured piece. He'd need to be reliable in a secondary role in May and June. That's exactly what he did in Minnesota this spring.
His Cup wins came in 2019 with St. Louis and 2024 with Florida. Both times he delivered when the stakes were highest. That kind of résumé doesn't go unnoticed around the league this time of year.
Whether Colorado pulls the trigger or another contender jumps in first, the market for Tarasenko will move fast.
Should the Avalanche sign Vladimir Tarasenko this offseason?
Also read on Markerzone.com:
Zach Werenski accepts a trade to a major NHL market and nobody saw this coming
