Wild acquire Vladimir Tarasenko from Red Wings for future considerations
A little bit of salary cap relief in Hockeytown.
On Monday, the Minnesota Wild acquired forward Vladimir Tarasenko from the Detroit Red Wings for future considerations.
UPDATE: The #RedWings have traded Vladimir Tarasenko to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for future considerations. pic.twitter.com/NVFj0YzFH5
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) June 30, 2025The point of the trade from the Red Wings’ side of things is that they’re able to offload the final year of Tarasenko’s contract, which carries a $4.75 million cap hit. Detroit isn’t retaining any salary as part of the deal.
The Russian playmaker had a full no-trade clause until July 1, meaning he had to waive his NTC to make the trade possible. The Wild could have to deal with his modified no-trade clause.
Tarasenko joined the Red Wings in July 2024, shortly after winning the Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers. He was expected to bring veteran experience and a noted scoring touch to a team that was hoping to finally snap the franchise’s long postseason drought. However, whether it be personnel decisions or just a lack of execution, Tarasenko had a limited impact on an overly disappointing Detroit team.
In 80 games, Tarasenko scored just 11 goals and 22 assists for 33 points. It was the lowest point total, in a full 82-game season, in the Yaroslavl native’s entire NHL career. Yet, getting the chance to potentially play with countryman Kirill Kaprizov could reignite the scoring spark in the veteran.
In 831 NHL appearances, the two-time Stanley Cup champion has scored 304 goals and 358 assists for 662 points, including 73 points in 121 playoff games.
The move opens up some space for Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman to make some waves once free agency opens up on Tuesday. Detroit solidified its goaltending situation by trading for Anaheim Ducks goaltender John Gibson on Friday. With Tarasenko off the books, the Red Wings are projected to have over $23 million in cap space for next season, according to CapWages.
Minnesota, finally rid of its recapture penalty as a result of the Zach Parise and Ryan Suter buyouts, has a little less than $19 million to spend next year.