The Florida Panthers made the biggest splash of the NHL Trade Deadline season thus far when they acquired Vladimir Tarasenko from the Ottawa Senators.
The Panthers sent a third-round pick in next year’s draft back to Ottawa, along with a conditional 2024 fourth-rounder. The Senators retain 50% of Tarasenko’s $5 million cap hit, which will expire at the season’s end.
This is a big swing for the Panthers, who have only improved since making it to the Stanley Cup Finals last season. Florida is currently on a hot streak, winning each of its last six games and 12 of its last 13. The Cats became the first team this season to hit the 90-point mark when they beat the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night.
Adding Tarasenko only deepens the offensive talent pool in South Beach, further establishing their chances of making it back to the Finals.
On Wednesday’s edition of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Frank Seravalli and Tyler Yaremchuk break down the trade, and how it impacts the Panthers.
Frank Seravalli: This was certainly a good fit from a personal perspective. I believe Tarasenko has a house in the South Florida area. On the list of teams that he wanted to try and get moved to, the Panthers were certainly one of them. I also find it interesting that Tarasenko, in the last few weeks, has changed agents again, and went with Craig Oster, who is Brady Tkachuk’s uncle. Now, he’s going to Matthew Tkachuck’s team.
Tyler Yaremchuk: Are you expecting the Panthers to be up to anything else ahead of Friday’s deadline, or is this their one move?
Frank: I would be surprised if this is their one move. I know another name they’ve had interest in, and in a similar situation, would be Max Pacioretty. Also holding the full no-move clause in Washington, he just has a $2 million cap hit. The team to beat in the East is getting stronger.
You can watch the full segment, and the entire episode here…
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