Tarasenko should help the Senators
Vladimir Tarasenko finished many furlongs short in his race for big bucks as an unrestricted free agent, which could end up being a pricey proposition for the Bruins in the Eastern Conference standings.
Tarasenko, last seen firing down the wing for the Rangers after the February trade deadline, needed to shop nearly the full month of July to land his oneyear, $5 million deal with Ottawa. Flabbergasted by the tepid interest in the free-agent market, he fired agent Paul Theofanous, then grabbed what he could when his new agents, Creative Artists Agency’s JP Barry and Pat Brisson, found they too couldn’t stoke sufficient interest in the cash-strapped UFA swap meet.
The bad news for the Bruins is that Tarasenko, with his career 270 goals
(all but eight of those with the Blues), could be the X-factor that finally gets the perenially sad-sack Senators in the playoffs for the first time since 2017 (when they dumped the Bruins in Round 1 with new coach Bruce Cassidy behind the Black and Gold bench).
Tarasenko, 31, has enhanced a stellar top-six forward group that is sure to include Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stutzle, Drake Batherson, Josh Norris (back from shoulder surgery), and likely Egor Sokolov, the 6-foot-3-inch Russian prospect (via AHL Belleville) who showed legit promise during his fivegame twirl at wing with the varsity last season. They also have wily, productive vet Claude Giroux to anchor a third line or toggle into the top six as needed.
All in all, the Senators with Tarasenko aboard should be a serious threat to filch one of the eight playoff berths in the East.
That’s a formidable cast of mostly twentysomethings up front, all of whom will enter 2023-24 with a sense of something to prove after the franchise’s six consecutive DNQs. The Senators also added a proven Joonas Korpisalo as their No. 1 goaltender.
The Bruins, their lineup patched together with aged veterans, including forwards James van Riemsdyk (34) and Milan Lucic (35), will face the Senators three times (Jan. 25, March 19, April 16) in the coming season.
The last of those dates closes out the regular season for the Bruins and will be their annual “Shirts Off Their Backs” night on Causeway St.