Senators sign Tarasenko to help replace DeBrincat's goal production
The Ottawa Senators signed free-agent right wing Vladimir Tarasenko to a one-year, $5 million deal Thursday to help replace the goal production from high-scoring forward Alex DeBrincat, who was traded to the Detroit Red Wings earlier this month.
A six-time 30-goal scorer, Tarasenko had 18 goals and 32 assists in 69 games last season with the St. Louis Blues and New York Rangers.
“Vladimir’s a natural goal-scorer,” Senators general manager Pierre Dorion said in a statement. “He’s a dynamic player who can score from anywhere in the offensive zone, as well as an underrated playmaker who’s made a career out of driving offense for he and his linemates.”
The 31-year-old Russian played his first 11 NHL seasons with St. Louis, helping the Blues win the Stanley Cup in 2019. He has 270 goals and 204 assists in 675 career regular-season games and 40 goals and 20 assists in 97 playoff games.
DeBrincat, who was fourth in goal scoring with 27 goals in Ottawa last year, was traded to the Red Wings on July 9 for forward Dominik Kubalik, defenseman prospect Donovan Sebrango, a conditional first-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft and a fourth-round pick in the 2024 draft.
The 25-year-old forward, who was a restricted free agent, then signed a four-year, $31.5 million contract with an average annual value of $7.875 million.
DeBrincat had 66 points (27 goals, 39 assists) in 82 games last season, his first in Ottawa after being acquired in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks on July 7, 2022.
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... The Arizona Coyotes signed 2022 first-round draft pick Logan Cooley on Thursday to a three-year, entry-level contract, after the center changed his mind about returning to Minnesota for another college season.
The 19-yeaer-old Cooley, who played with USA Hockey's National Team Development Program in Plymouth, was the third overall pick last year.
The Pittsburgh native led Minnesota in scoring as a freshman with 22 goals and 38 assists in 39 games, helping the Gophers reach the NCAA championship game. The 5-foot-10, 181-pound Cooley was second in the country with 60 points and had at least one point in 32 games.
Cooley initially announced he would return to the Gophers for the 2023-24 season. He said on his Instagram account that he realized “deep down” he was ready to move up.
“I want to fulfill my lifelong dream of becoming an NHL player,” Cooley said. “The hardest part of comin to this decision was feeling like I was letting people down, but I have to be true to myself and do what's in my heart. I'm so grateful for my time as a Gopher.”
... The Carolina Hurricanes signed Sebastian Aho to an eight-year deal worth $78 million, the richest contract handed out in the history of the franchise that used to be the Hartford Whalers.
Aho is now under contract through 2032 at an annual salary cap hit of $9.75 million, once the deal kicks in for the 2024-25 NHL season.
“This is the place I want to play,” Aho said on a video call with reporters from his native Finland. “Obviously, starting from the front office, the organization has taken huge steps over the course of the last five years and, obviously, we feel like we’re building every year.”
Aho has 468 points in 520 career regular-season games, all with Carolina, and is also nearly a point-a-game player in the playoffs with 58 in 63.
“Five years ago we were just starting to build, and if you look at the pieces we put in place Sebastian is absolutely the No. 1 piece,” said general manager Don Waddell, a former Red Wings assistant GM. “We’ve got some great players, but Sebastian has been there each and every night in the regular season and the playoffs.”