Vladimir Tarasenko Unhappy with Paul Theofanous Just Like MN Wild
It’s been a slow start to the NHL offseason for the Minnesota Wild, as president of hockey operations Bill Guerin waits patiently for the right blockbuster move to come along.
The Wild reportedly swung big and missed on Brady Tkachuk, who is on his way to Florida. So now, while Detroit shuffles through offers on Dylan Larkin, Billy has no choice but to sit on his hands and wait for the market to shake out another opportunity.
Meanwhile, we are getting dangerously close to July 1, when unrestricted free agents — including Mats Zuccarello, Nick Foligno and Vladimir Tarasenko — will be able to negotiate with other teams.
To this point, the only free agent Minnesota has committed to is Michael McCarron, who inked a six-year deal worth an average of $3.3 million per season a couple of weeks ago. Since then, everything has been on hold.
Agent swap could change MN Wild offseason plans?
On Monday morning, however, some rather interesting news dropped involving one of the aforementioned unrestricted free agents.
According to Michael Russo (first reported by Elliotte Friedman on his “32 Thoughts” podcast), Vladimir Tarasenko has changed agents, from Paul Theofanous and Pat Brisson to Dan Milstein.
As @FriedgeHNIC reported on 32 Thoughts, pending UFA Vladimir Tarasenko has again changed agents. Believe he's switched from Paul Theofanous (who was supposed to take the lead this summer)/Pat Brisson to Dan Milstein
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) June 22, 2026
Professional athletes change agents on a semi-regular basis, some more often than others. Normally, it’s not front page news. It’s still uncertain whether this qualifies as that, but it’s certainly more noteworthy than most.
Not only is Tarasenko expected to be a bit out of Minnesota’s price range this offseason, but his former agent Paul Theofanous and Bill Guerin aren’t exactly getting along right now either.
Why Vladimir Tarasenko swapping agents may be significant
Theofanous has long represented many of the best Russian players in the National Hockey League, including Kirill Kaprizov. And last offseason, those two declined the largest contract in NHL history, at $16 million per season, eventually settling at $17 million per season.
Not only is that AAV currently $3 million more than any other individual NHL salary for 2026-27, but it is making Guerin’s life exponentially more difficult this offseason. It’s also could cost Kaprizov his best friend, Mats Zuccarello.
Related: MN Wild Not Offering Key Players for Larkin
We’ll have to wait for more information to come out, but is it possible Tarasenko is switching agents with the hope that Milstein will be able to negotiate an extension in Minnesota, before he hits free agency? Who knows… but a return to the Wild certainly feels a lot more plausible, all of a sudden.
Like Theofanous, Dan Milstein represents a host of Russian hockey players past and present, including Pavel Datsyuk, Artemi Panarin, Andrei Vasilevskiy and Nikita Kucherov.
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