MLive’s Ansar Khan weighs in on the pluses of the Red Wings moving Vladimir Tarasenko:
The Red Wings are 15-5-1 since the coaching change and might be reluctant to tinker with team chemistry, but moving Tarasenko would hardly send shockwaves through the room since he has not been a good fit from the start.
Tarasenko has been moved prior to each of the past two trade deadlines (the Blues sent him to the Rangers in 2023) but was playing much better on those occasions.
As much as the Red Wings might want to part with Tarasenko, it’s unlikely general manager Steve Yzerman will relinquish a high draft pick or decent prospect to get it done.
If the Red Wings can’t unload him by the March 7 trade deadline, he would be a prime buyout candidate in June. It would cost the club $1.583 million against the cap for each of the next two seasons. It would be worth it because it would create a spot in the top nine for a younger player or a more productive free agent.
In any event, it’s difficult to imagine the Red Wings expecting different results by keeping Tarasenko on their roster next season at $4.75 million.
Continued (paywall)
