Avalanche should target Ottawa Senators sniper
Vladimir Tarasenko may be a great playoff rental for the Avs.
Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports - Avalanche should target Ottawa Senators sniperAs a playoff contender, the Colorado Avalanche are likely to be buyers at the fast approaching, March 8th trade deadline.
The Avs are sitting in second place in the Central Division, fiercely competing with the top-ranked Dallas Stars and third-ranked Winnipeg Jets.
They could add forward depth with veteran right-winger Vladimir Tarasenko from the Ottawa Senators. Tarasenko is at the end of a one-year, $5M-contract with the struggling Senators, and has appeared high on TSNs 2024 Trade Bait List.
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Senators GM Steve Staios told Sportsnet that, considering they have little to no chance of making the playoffs, they are looking into shopping him.
“Obviously with where we are in the standings, him becoming an unrestricted free agent, it’s certainly something that we’ll continue to take a look at,” Staois said on Jan. 25.
Tarasenko is high-ranking on the Senators roster, at 14 goals and 21 assists. But not so high-ranking they would never give him up.
His biggest asset is being a sniper, with a 15.2 per cent shooting accuracy, sitting in the NHLs 88th percentile. He is also a decently fast skater, with 43 bursts of between 20 and 22 mph this season.
Tarasenko provides good scoring numbers at high-danger range, scoring 25.9 per cent of his 27 shots taken right in front of the crease. He is also good at mid-range on the right-hand side, scoring 22.2 per cent of his 18 shots taken from that position.
He's expensive though, at a $5-million cap hit. Here's what the Avs could do to afford him.
Jonathan Drouin
The Avalanche are in need of roster polishing on the front end heading into the playoffs, especially with the struggling left-winger, 28-year-old Jonathan Drouin, who has not scored a single goal in his past 11 games, and has now gone three games without a point.
Tarasenko, on the other hand, has notched four goals and three assists in his past 10 games, and may be a good fill-in for Drouin, as well as the now notoriously struggling Ryan Johansen.
Veteran blueliner Bowen Byram could be the third bargaining chip, who is a good player, but his overall stats do not reflect his $3.85M-cap hit.
Trading off Drouin, Johansen, and Byram, who will collectively cost the Avs $8.675M this season, would make up more than enough financial room for Tarasenko's cost, as well as additional returns to fill the C and D spaces left by Johansen and Byram leaving.