The Senators will retain half of Tarasenko's $5 million salary as part of the trade

The Florida Panthers are taking a big swing ahead of the NHL Trade Deadline.

On Wednesday, Panthers General Manager Bill Zito acquired Ottawa Senators forward Vladimir Tarasenko.

The trade is for two draft picks, 2025 third-round pick and a conditional 2024 fourth-round pick. Ottawa will retain half of Tarasenko’s $5 million salary.

The condition on the fourth-round pick is that it becomes a third-rounder if Florida wins the Stanley Cup this season.

In recent weeks, reports began to surface suggesting that Tarasenko, an unrestricted free agent, was willing to waive his no-movement clause in order to chase a Stanley Cup with a contending team.

Florida was a team at the top of his list, and the Panthers and Senators were able to find a deal that worked for both sides.

The 32-year-old Tarasenko played the majority of his career with the St. Louis Blues, winning a Stanley Cup in 2019.

During his 11 years in the NHL, Tarasenko has accumulated 287 goals and 615 points over 732 games.

The left-shooting winger has played primarily on the right side during his career, which would indicate Florida will be placing him on the third line, which is centered by Anton Lundell.

The left wing on that line has been Eetu Luostarinen, and it makes sense to think he’d stay there.

The Panthers’ top two lines are pretty set with their center-right winger combinations of Sahsa Barkov and Sam Reinhart on the first unit and Sam Bennett and Matthew Tkachuk on the second.

If Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice leaves Nick Cousins on the Bennett line, that would mean Evan Rodrigues would move to the fourth line, and Maurice would have the options of Ryan Lomberg and Jonah Gadjovich on the opposite wing.

Overall, adding Tarasenko to Florida’s already deep and talented unit only cements the Panthers as one of the NHL’s top Cup contenders.

Entering play Wednesday, Florida sits atop the NHL standings with a 43-16-4 record. They’ve won 16 of their past 18 games overall and 14 of 15 on the road.

The Panthers also boast one of the top goalie tandems in the league and arguably the deepest defensive unit out there.

Their special teams are also above average, with the power play ranking fifth in the league and the penalty kill eighth.

Now they’re adding a high-end forward who can play multiple roles and contribute both at even strength and on the power play.

It’s Stanley Cup or bust for the Panthers.

Enjoy the ride.

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