Vladimir Tarasenko Changes Agents Ahead Of Likely Free Agency

Tarasenko was previously repped by both Pat Brisson of CAA and Paul Theofanous of TMI, part of a formal collaboration agreement signed by Theofanous and CAA.

He will now be represented by Dan Milstein of Gold Star Hockey, another one of the game’s biggest agents whose top active clients include Tampa Bay Lightning stars Nikita Kucherov and Andrei Vasilevskiy, as well as top defenseman Mikhail Sergachev.

Just under one month ago, we covered reports coming out of Minnesota that indicated that Tarasenko was unlikely to re-sign with the Wild. At that time, The Athletic’s Joe Smith actually pointed to Tarasenko being repped by Theofanous as a factor contributing to the likelihood of the player’s exit as a free agent.

According to Smith, the Wild are “unlikely [to] play ball” with Theofanous this summer due to the lingering complications from the two parties’ negotiation of a $17MM AAV extension for superstar Kirill Kaprizov.

Although Tarasenko is no longer repped by Theofanous, therefore removing that kind of complication in the player’s relationship with the Wild, it still appears almost certain that Tarasenko will be signing elsewhere next month.

Minnesota has already dipped into some of their cap space to re-sign veteran Michael McCarron ($3.33MM AAV) and the team is likely hoping to keep the rest of their powder dry in case an opportunity to acquire a star forward presents itself. The Wild were on the list of preferred trade destinations for Brady Tkachuk, though he was ultimately dealt to the Florida Panthers.

Tkachuk is unlikely to be the final star who considers landing in the Twin Cities this summer, but the cost of re-signing Tarasenko could push the Wild out of those conversations. As a result, he’ll likely be headed elsewhere.

Although his future is not in Minnesota, Tarasenko is still likely to garner substantial interest on the open market. For teams looking for solid middle-six scoring available without the need for a massive long-term financial commitment, Tarasenko could be a top option. He scored 23 goals and 47 points in 75 games for the Wild last season. Since Tarasenko is set to turn 35 in December, teams interested in signing him won’t need to commit to the kind of term other comparable scorers (such as 31-year-old Mason Marchment) will require.