Is Tarasenko A Good Fit For Edmonton?

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The Edmonton Oilers are having a decent offseason so far. They traded away Darnell Nurse and his entire $9.25 million cap hit. Re-signed their key pending free agents and addressed some team needs.

Edmonton still has plenty of cap space left to make more additions. According to Sportsnet hockey insider Elliotte Friedman, he seems to think Oilers GM Stan Bowman is not done yet. He mentioned that Edmonton could take a look at signing Vladimir Tarasenko.

Friedman: “Wonder if the Oilers look at Vladimir Tarasenko. Heard a few teams looked at him as things calmed down after free agency day one.”

Tarasenko played with the Minnesota Wild last season. He registered 23 goals and 24 assists for 47 points in 75 games. Throughout his career, he has registered 327 goals and 382 assists for 709 points in 906 games. The veteran has played for the Wild, Detroit Red Wings, Florida Panthers, Ottawa Senators, New York Rangers, and St. Louis Blues.

The 34-year-old is still a decent offensive producer who can usually generate 45-55 points a season. Could he be the missing piece in the Oilers’ bottom-six heading into the 2026-27 season? Maybe.

Edmonton Could Use Tarasenko in Middle Six Role

A nice thing about Tarasenko is that he’s not looking for a long-term deal or a huge payday. The Oilers can probably sign him to a short-term deal, maybe for two to three years, for around the $4 million-$4.5 million range. It could be a little risk, high reward situation for Bowman and company.

Edmonton is pretty much set with their top six group. Tarasenko would play mostly on their third line with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jason Dickinson. I expect top prospect Isaac Howard to get a look on one of the top two lines. However, if he doesn’t work out, Edmonton can switch Howard and Tarasenko. The best part about adding Tarasenko would be the flexibility to move him around the lineup.