According to TVA Sports, the Montreal Canadiens are no longer in the running to sign Russian forward Vladimir Tarasenko.
Despite speculation from some Montreal journalists who saw Tarasenko as an ideal mentor for young prospect Ivan Demidov (Tarasenko would have had to sign a two-year contract at a discount), it seems that the player has only received one concrete offer so far, that of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
According to The Athletic’s Josh Yohe, the Penguins have indeed offered a contract to Tarasenko, who has been an unrestricted free agent since July 2.
However, with just $4.3 million available under the salary cap, the Penguins’ offer doesn’t appear to be particularly lucrative.
And for Montreal, going beyond $4.3 million per year for Taransenko doesn’t really make sense according to TVA Sports. Yes, he won the Stanley Cup, but we’re talking about a player on a downward slope.
There are also reports that other teams are showing interest in Tarasenko, although the details of those possible offers are not yet known.
For his part, Montreal Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes has expressed his intention to recruit a second or third-line player in the short term, but he has not confirmed whether Tarasenko is in his plans.
Last season, Vladimir Tarasenko had 55 points, including 23 goals, during his time with the Ottawa Senators and the Florida Panthers.
In the playoffs, his performance was more modest with nine points, including five goals, in 22 games. Since Jeff Skinner found a new team Monday night, Tarasenko remains one of the biggest names still available on the free-agent market.
A Russian journalist asked Tarasenko to describe Ivan Demidov in one sentence, and the Russian immediately texted back from Las Vegas with two words: “Absolute superstar.”
Demidov was undeniably the best player available when the Montreal Canadiens reached the podium.
We’re talking about an offensive prodigy projected to be a first-line forward in the biggest hockey league in the world, a self-described “gamebreaker,” and now he belongs to the team that probably needed him the most of any team in this draft.
The Canadiens haven’t had a player produce a point per game over a season since Alex Kovalev scored 84 points in 82 games during the 2007-08 campaign.
They haven’t had a forward with such eye-catching skills since Kovalev left to sign with the Ottawa Senators in 2010.
And it could be argued that no player in their current squad has more potential to change that situation than Demidov.
He’s a true highlight reel player, a six-foot, 192-pound winger with a pair of fiery hands, a skating that’s underrated despite the bad guys and a hockey sense to embarrass his opponents on every play. The Canadiens don’t have another player like him in their lineup.
But every prodigy needs a mentor. If Demidov could play this season, we can bet that Tarasenko would already be a member of the Montreal Canadiens.
