Why Did MN Wild Trade for Vladimir Tarasenko and What Should Fans Expect?

Minnesota Wild fans have been waiting a long time for July 1, 2025. For years, tomorrow is supposed to be the day everything changes regarding the future of this organization.

Not only does Kirill Kaprizov become eligible for a long-term contract extension, but the Zach Parise and Ryan Suter buyout penalties are set to mostly fall off the books too.

President of hockey operations Bill Guerin has made it very clear in recent weeks, however, that we shouldn’t be hoping too hard for Kirill to ink a deal immediately after the NHL calendar year rolls over. And after what happened Monday, there won’t be any big free agent splashes either.

What should Minnesota Wild fans expect from Vladimir Tarasenko

That’s because Guerin made a trade today instead, sending out “future considerations” to the Detroit Red Wings, in exchange for 33-year-old veteran winger, Vladimir Tarasenko and his entire $4.75 million salary next season.

Tarasenko has one year left on his contract at $4.75M. #mnwild take on full freight. Leaves them with $12.95 million and probably means they'll just be looking for a center tomorrow

— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) June 30, 2025

Earlier in his career, Tarasenko was one of the top scoring wings in the National Hockey League. He’s scored over 30 goals six times during his 13-year NHL career, including 116 goals and 106 assists in three seasons with the St. Louis Blues between 2014 and 2016.

But in recent seasons, Tarasenko has been a shell of the superstar he was a decade ago. He hasn’t scored 30 goals since 2021-22 and last season, Vlad’s only in Detroit, he took a huge step back.

In 80 games with the Red Wings, Tarasenko scored just 11 goals and 22 assists, spending a large chunk of his 18:51 TOI on the third line. His 33 points in Detroit last year was the Russian winger’s lowest total of any season where he played 20 games or more.

Why did the Wild trade for Tarasenko?

So… why did the Minnesota Wild make the deal for Vladimir Tarasenko? A couple of reasons. First off, Detroit was looking to dump the salary of an incredibly talented player, for essentially nothing in return. Meanwhile, other free agent options would have required more money and more term.

We knew the Wild wanted to add a scoring winger to their arsenal; we figured that would come via free agency. But players such as Brock Boeser, Nikolaj Ehlers and Mikael Granlund would have taken more term and probably dollars than the Wild wanted to invest.

Michael Russo – The Athletic

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According to Michael Russo (The Athletic), the Wild plan to play Tarasenko on the second line, where he will have either Ryan Hartman or Marco Rossi at center. Guerin hopes that will reinvigorate the 33-year-old’s career, and in turn, give Minnesota the high-caliber scoring forward they so desperately desire.

The plan now, per Russo, is for the Minnesota Wild to sit back on the cap space that will remain, after Kaprizov gets his extension, and wait for the perfect fit forward to present himself either before the NHL Trade Deadline or next offseason.

This trade essentially buys them a year to scour the landscape for a winger they do want to invest in via trade or free agency, or further develop from within their deep prospect pool.

Michael Russo – The Athletic