Latest news with #VladimirTarasenko
New York Times
7 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Blues 2025-26 schedule takeaways: Revenge date with Winnipeg, reunions and more
ST. LOUIS — The St. Louis Blues will welcome Vladimir Tarasenko and the Minnesota Wild to town for the regular-season opener Oct. 9 at Enterprise Center. Among the many roster changes that transpired over the offseason, Tarasenko was traded from the Red Wings to the Wild, so there will be some new faces in new places when the Blues take the ice in 2025-26. Advertisement Some others are more recent Blues players facing their former team, such as Zack Bolduc (Montreal Canadiens), Nick Leddy (San Jose Sharks) and Radek Faksa (Dallas Stars). But perhaps specific players aren't of the most interest to you — it's teams. Well, after the way the 2024-25 season wrapped up, you'll want to know that the Winnipeg Jets make their first trip to St. Louis Dec. 17. The Blues can begin to get the taste of that excruciating first-round playoff loss out of their mouths when they drop the puck on the preseason Sept. 20 against the Dallas Stars — the first of six exhibition games that were announced earlier this week. #stlblues 2025 preseason schedule: — Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford) July 14, 2025 And on Wednesday, the Blues got their regular-season schedule: Here's the breakdown with month-by-month takeaways … (All times in CT) 9: vs. Minnesota Wild, 7 p.m. 11: at Calgary Flames, 3 p.m. 13: at Vancouver Canucks, 6:30 p.m. 15: vs. Chicago Blackhawks, 8:30 p.m. 18: vs. Dallas Stars, 6 p.m. 21: vs. Los Angeles Kings, 7 p.m. 23: vs. Utah Mammoth, 7 p.m. 25: at Detroit Red Wings, 6 p.m. 27: at Pittsburgh Penguins, 6 p.m. 28: vs. Detroit Red Wings, 7:15 p.m. 30: vs. Vancouver Canucks, 7 p.m. 1: at Columbus Blue Jackets, 6 p.m. 3: vs. Edmonton Oilers, 7:30 p.m. 5: at Washington Capitals, 6:30 p.m. 6: at Buffalo Sabres, 6 p.m. 8: vs. Seattle Kraken, 6 p.m. 11: vs. Calgary Flames, 7 p.m. 14: vs. Philadelphia Flyers, 7 p.m. 15: vs. Vegas Golden Knights, 7 p.m. 18: at Toronto Maple Leafs, 6 p.m. 20: at Philadelphia Flyers, 6 p.m. 22: at New York Islanders, 2:30 p.m. 24: at New York Rangers, 6 p.m. 26: at New Jersey Devils, 6 p.m. 28: vs. Ottawa Senators, 3 p.m. 29: vs. Utah Mammoth, 7 p.m. 1: vs. Anaheim Ducks, 7 p.m. 4: at Boston Bruins, 6 p.m. 6: at Ottawa Senators, 6 p.m. 7: at Montreal Canadiens, 6 p.m. 9: vs. Boston Bruins, 6 p.m. 11: at Nashville Predators, 7 p.m. 12: vs. Chicago Blackhawks, 7 p.m. 15: vs. Nashville Predators, 7 p.m. 17: vs. Winnipeg Jets, 7 p.m. 18: vs. New York Rangers, 7 p.m. Advertisement 20: at Florida Panthers, 5 p.m. 22: at Tampa Bay Lightning, 6 p.m. 27: vs. Nashville Predators, 7 p.m. 29: vs. Buffalo Sabres, 7 p.m. 31: at Colorado Avalanche, 8 p.m. 2: vs. Vegas Golden Knights, 2 p.m. 3: vs. Montreal Canadiens, 3 p.m. 7: at Chicago Blackhawks, 8:30 p.m. 9: at Utah Mammoth, 8 p.m. 10: at Vegas Golden Knights, 9 p.m. 13: vs. Carolina Hurricanes, 7 p.m. 16: vs. Tampa Bay Lightning, 7 p.m. 18: at Edmonton Oilers, 7 p.m. 20: at Winnipeg Jets, 7 p.m. 23: at Dallas Stars, 7 p.m. 24: vs. Los Angeles Kings, 7 p.m. 27: vs. Dallas Stars, 7 p.m. 29: vs. Florida Panthers, 7 p.m. 31: vs. Columbus Blue Jackets, 6 p.m. 2: at Nashville Predators, 7 p.m. 4: at Dallas Stars, 8:30 p.m. 26: vs. Seattle Kraken, 7 p.m. 28: vs. New Jersey Devils, 6 p.m. 1: at Minnesota Wild, 5:30 p.m. 4: at Seattle Kraken, 9 p.m. 6: at San Jose Sharks, 9 p.m. 8: at Anaheim Ducks, 8 p.m. 10: vs. New York Islanders, 6:30 p.m. 12: at Carolina Hurricanes, 6 p.m. 13: vs. Edmonton Oilers, 7 p.m. 15: at Winnipeg Jets, 2 p.m. 18: at Calgary Flames, 8:30 p.m. 21: at Vancouver Canucks, 6 p.m. 24: vs. Washington Capitals, 7 p.m. 26: vs. San Jose Sharks, 7 p.m. 28: vs. Toronto Maple Leafs, 6 p.m. 30: at San Jose Sharks, 9 p.m. 1: at Los Angeles Kings, 8 p.m. 3: at Anaheim Ducks, 9 p.m. 5: at Colorado Avalanche, 8:30 p.m. 7: vs. Colorado Avalanche, 7 p.m. 9: vs. Winnipeg Jets, 7 p.m. 11: at Chicago Blackhawks, 4 p.m. 13: vs. Minnesota Wild, 7 p.m. 14: vs. Pittsburgh Penguins, 8:30 p.m. 16: at Utah Mammoth, 7 p.m.
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Despite Detroit's Off-Season Moves, Red Wings Look Primed For Another Mediocre Season
Not all that long ago, the Detroit Red Wings were the gold standard of NHL teams. For an incredible 25 years, the Red Wings were in the Stanley Cup playoffs – and on four occasions from 1997-2008, the Wings won the Cup. In the modern era, you couldn't ask for more from a franchise. And all that success makes it especially painful for Red Wings fans to struggle through what they're currently struggling through – a whopping nine straight years without a post-season appearance. Advertisement In those nine years, the Wings have finished in seventh or eighth place in their division five times. And this past year, they finished sixth in the Atlantic Division. For the most part, the Red Wings' efforts have been nowhere close to good enough, and the increasing degree of fan frustration has never been more evident than it is right now. Of course, things would be different if Detroit GM Steve Yzerman came away from the NHL's recent ffree-agent frenzy with at least a couple of veteran talents to carry them across the finish line and make the playoffs next year. Instead, Yzerman added a goalie in former Anaheim Ducks starter John Gibson – admittedly, an upgrade on what the Wings had in goal – and after that…well, he traded non-factor winger Vladimir Tarasenko to the Minnesota Wild, and signed third-line winger Mason Appleton, journeyman winger James van Riemsdyk, and third-pair defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker. Are you impressed by those changes? If you are, you're in the minority. And if you're a Wings fan, you can't help but be pessimistic about this Detroit team's chances of getting back into the post-season next year. Advertisement There are definitely some NHL GMs out there who are feeling the pressure to have their team produce positive results in 2025-26, but Yzerman is probably right at the top of the list of the GMs facing the most pressure. He's been on the job running things in the Motor City since April of 2019, and he has nothing tangible to show for it. Yzerman's incredible playing career has given him a long runway to try and stick the landing as Wings GM, but even hockey icons only get so much time to turn things around before they are added to the list of people who couldn't get the job done as managers. And that's where Yzerman is now in Detroit. Yzerman can point to youngsters in the organization who he believes will step up and help the Red Wings make it to the playoffs next year, but here's a better metric of sorts – which Detroit youngster is truly a generational talent? Defenseman Moritz Seider qualifies in the minds of some observers, so let's be generous and say Seider makes the cut. After that, what current Wings talent is top-10 in the league in any regard? Detroit doesn't have those truly elite, high-end players. And when you miss the playoffs for that many years, you should've been able to draft and develop a couple of top talents. That may be Yzerman's biggest sin as Wings GM – not tanking for top players, which is the most proven way to land the foundational talent needed to compete for Cups over the long haul. Yzerman might've drafted Chicago Blackhawks center Connor Bedard if he'd done that. He may have wound up with San Jose Sharks center Macklin Celebrini if he'd done that. He might've landed New York Islanders defenseman Matthew Schaefer if he'd done that. Instead, it's been nothing but mediocrity for the Red Wings, Advertisement From this writer's perspective, if you're not good enough to be a playoff team, you should be doing everything in your power to land a top draft spot. And it has never felt like Yzerman and Co. have been willing to do that. There have been excuses left and right, and as things have unfolded not in Detroit's favor, Yzerman has grown testy with the media and unable to lay out a specific plan Wings fans can look to for comfort. And he also can't point to season-after-season improvement in the win column. And now, the Red Wings are entering a season in which no one will be projecting them to make the playoffs. The defending Cup champion Florida Panthers will be a playoff team next year. The regular-season Atlantic champion Toronto Maple Leafs will also be a playoff team, as will the Tampa Bay Lightning. And after that, the Ottawa Senators, Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins will be in a ferocious battle for one of the final playoff spots in the Eastern Conference. You can lump the Wings into that latter group, but the reality remains – making the playoffs will be an extremely tall order for Detroit. And if things pan out the way we think they'll pan out and the Red Wings fail to make the playoffs once again, Yzerman will almost assuredly be out of a job, and the process of rebuilding will start over in earnest. That's why this coming season already looks and feels like a wasted year. Detroit ownership has entrusted Yzerman with another season to try and accomplish something positive, but unless he pulls off a minor miracle, Yzerman is going to come away with his hands stuck out and nothing in them. Steve Yzerman (Eric Bolte-Imagn Images) Maybe Yzerman will prove the doubters wrong, and the Wings will sneak into a playoff spot. Even then, does anyone feel like Detroit will be anything other than first-round roadkill? This Red Wings team simply doesn't have the horses to run with the legitimate Cup frontrunners, and just getting into the playoffs can't be the sole goal for Wings management. Advertisement All in all, it feels like it's going to be another long season for the Red Wings, and another year of excuses and frustration is in store for Detroit. And this could be Yzerman's final kick at the can. Get the latest news and trending stories by following The Hockey News on Google News and by subscribing to The Hockey News newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
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. Advertisement 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. Related Headlines 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. 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. Advertisement 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 Related: Minnesota Wild Arena Renamed 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. Advertisement 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 Related Headlines
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Minnesota Wild Offseason Gets Lukewarm Grade
This offseason was supposed to be an opportunity for Bill Guerin to make waves after Zach Parise and Ryan Suter's contract buyouts. There were multiple names that drew interest from the Minnesota Wild. They stuck out more than the worst version of the Minnesota Twins. Unless you buy what Geurin wants to sell with the name Vladimir Tarasenko, or Nico Sturm being a Stanley Cup cog, there's a lot to be desired. That's an unfortunate reality after all of the waiting fans from the newly named Xcel Energy Center have done. Credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images That reality isn't lost on those evaluating that leagues happenings either. Advertisement Related Headlines Mediocrity defines MN Wild offseason Although the offseason really just got underway, plenty of defining moves have already taken place. There is now a shortage of openly available talent and the Minnesota Wild didn't do any heavy lifting. The Athletic's Michael Russo weighed in after assigning the team a C+ grade. 'The Wild had hoped to sign Brock Nelson in free agency, but he re-signed in Colorado. They wanted to sign Brock Boeser, but when it became clear he had other options, they pivoted to Vladimir Tarasenko on a one-year bet that his career can be reinvigorated. Nico Sturm should help their penalty-kill and faceoff needs, but this was not the July 1 'Christmas' fans expected after four years of buyout shackles limiting their every move.' Michael Russo – The Athletic The key word in Russo's evaluation is 'but.' The Minnesota Wild intended to do plenty of things and missed on virtually all of those that carried significant impact. Maybe Geurin forgot how to be aggressive during the years he was strapped with buyouts for Parise and Suter. Maybe he overplayed what the market for some of these free agents actually would be. Advertisement Either way, it results in a very underwhelming crop of talent. It's likely that Kirill Kaprizov signs an extension, and it will have the potential to make him the league's highest-paid player. That's great, but he's not an addition, and more money doesn't help them bring in new talent. Related: Minnesota Wild Arena Renamed The Wild aren't along in their rating. 11 different organizations got grades in the 'C' range with Minnesota being joined by Vancouver, Anaheim, and Buffalo amongst the 'C+' contingent. Only Chicago and Columbus recorded 'D' grades. It remains to be seen how Minnesota will build the rest of the way, and they'll finally have space to add at the trade deadline. For a team that finished 45-30-7 and exited with another patented first round playoff loss, this doesn't seem great. Advertisement Related Headlines
Yahoo
06-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Wild's Vladimir Tarasenko Makes Admission on Red Wings Exit
Wild's Vladimir Tarasenko Makes Admission on Red Wings Exit originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The Detroit Red Wings made a surprising signing last offseason when they acquired forward Vladimir Tarasenko, inking him to a two-year contract. Advertisement Tarasenko played for both the Ottawa Senators and the Florida Panthers in 2023-24, recording 55 points in 76 games in both stints combined. Already in Detroit, the Russian winger struggled mightily to find that pace or even get remotely close to it, finishing the 2024-25 regular season with a meager 33 points in 80 games, his worst production in any season in which he played more than 38 games. That low production prompted Detroit to trade him to the Minnesota Wild on June 30, on the verge of the start of free agency. On a conference call with reporters on Tuesday, Tarasenko admitted to initiating the talks for a trade and a move out of Detroit himself, saying the time had come for a change. Advertisement 'Yeah, we wanted a change,' Tarasenko said. 'The trade happened. I don't even know what else to say. Probably to most questions about the past, I'll say that the past is behind us.' Explaining his drop in production, Tarasenko cited the effect of moving between four teams over two years, including a Stanley Cup-winning season with Florida in 2024, making his campaign longer than usual, lasting into late June. Detroit Red Wings right wing Vladimir Tarasenko (11) gets set during a Osentoski-Imagn Images 'I have a lot of time this summer,' Tarasenko said. 'I think for the first time in my career, I have so much time to prepare for the season. It is possible to rest not only physically but also mentally.' Advertisement Tarasenko has 662 career points in 831 games and is now aiming to bounce back in Minnesota with a full offseason to recover and prepare. Now with the Wild, the 33-year-old sees a chance to reset as he enters his final year under contract. 'I will come and try to help the team in any way possible,' Tarasenko said. 'I feel like every year I have something to prove.' Related: Red Wings' Dylan Larkin Makes Major Life Announcement on Friday Related: Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman Addresses Unmet Fan Expectations in Press Conference This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 5, 2025, where it first appeared.
