6 NHL Free-Agent Landing Spots for Vladimir Tarasenko Amid Rumors

With the summer quickly dwindling away and NHL training camp approaching, there are a few big-name players still looking for a place to play and Vladimir Tarasenko might be the gaudiest among them.

The 34-year-old sniper had a bounce back season with Minnesota last year after a disappointing campaign in Detroit the previous one. In 75 games, he had 23 goals and 24 assists for 47 points.

He had five goals and eight assists on the power play and if there's a good way to market him to a team in need, it's his ability to help on the man advantage.

Surely there's a market for a player whose offensive game can still bring it at his age and someone who comes with Stanley Cup-winning experience? If his defensive effort was stronger, we might not be writing about him.

That said, anyone who can chip in close to 50 points in a season should have a market and we've picked out some teams who could definitely make use of Tarasenko's skills.

Toronto Maple Leafs

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Part of Toronto's offseason makeover under new GM John Chayka involved basically rebuilding the entire third and fourth lines. While that's good for toughening up the defense, it's possible it leaves the Maple Leafs offense relying heavily on their star players to do all the scoring. Adding Vladimir Tarasenko as an option on the cheap could give them the scoring depth to help buoy them.

Tarasenko's talent offensively is still strong as he demonstrated last season in Minnesota. The Leafs having Auston Matthews, William Nylander and John Tavares to lead the offense and adding Gavin McKenna in the draft should help them score more, but you can't help but look at the Toronto roster and think they just flat out need more. Tarasenko has some limitations defensively, but new coach Jim Hiller's system should help to that end.

Edmonton Oilers

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This offseason has been fascinating for Edmonton, what with bringing in Mike Babcock to coach and all, but they're also a team looking to get back to the Stanley Cup Final and while they're not hurting for offense with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, bringing in an experienced shooter like Vladimir Tarasenko could give them help they need to cover for younger players.

Tarasenko joining the Oilers has been kicked around this summer as an idea and while they're a team that may not need more firepower, they are looking at potentially throwing rookie Isaac Howard back into the fire again this season. Although Howard struggled in the NHL last year, he had a solid AHL season. But with a new coach and the same high expectations for him and for the team in general, supporting him with a veteran like Tarasenko could be the kind of depth they're looking for.

Tarasenko being an added weapon to an already outstanding Oilers power play would be a case of the rich getting richer, but more scoring depth for Edmonton at 5-on-5 would be a good thing.

Philadelphia Flyers

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The Flyers' boldness this summer in trying to land Leo Carlsson puts them firmly on any list for available scoring talent and Vladimir Tarasenko more than fits that bill.

Tarasenko's scoring skill and great work on the power play would give Philly at least one ace in the hole and would also give a fellow Russian for Matvei Michkov to learn from. The Flyers had the NHL's worst power play last season (15.7 percent) and while they want their current players to get better at it and figure things out with it, adding a shooter and playmaker like Tarasenko could give their man advantage some needed juice.

If there's a catch with adding Tarasenko, how coach Rick Tocchet would handle Tarasenko's more offensively minded style of play would be worth keeping an eye on.

Vancouver Canucks

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The Canucks were the NHL's worst team last season for a lot of reasons, but a big one was that they just didn't score enough goals. That issue doesn't seem set to resolve itself heading into the new year as they're lacking depth in a big way which should make Vladimir Tarasenko a person of interest.

Tarasenko's 23 goals would've tied him for the Canucks team lead with Jake DeBrusk and his 47 points would've been fourth most. Although he wouldn't solve the problems for Vancouver, he would help address them by adding another guy capable of adding to the offense.

If there's a (big) catch here, it's that Tarasenko might not want to join a team that doesn't look set to be a playoff contender, never mind a Stanley Cup contender. However, this could be a situation where Tarasenko can play himself onto a contender by the deadline if he shows out. It may not be the most ideal way to go about it, but it's an option.

Calgary Flames

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When it came to scoring last season, the Flames were not associated with that in any way. Calgary scored the fewest goals in the NHL (208) and had the league's second worst power play (16.2 percent). With that lack of offensive output, how could the Flames not be interested in Vladimir Tarasenko?

Tarasenko would've been Calgary's leading scorer with his output last season. He scored more goals (23) than any Flames player as well. Even though his season was solid, it wasn't the best season of his career, and it was still better than anyone on the Calgary roster.

The case to add Tarasenko is easy to make because he would flat-out help them score more goals and potentially win more games. And sure, his defensive play isn't always up to snuff, but sheesh, it was an offensive desert in Calgary last season. And if Tarasenko plays well and the Flames aren't in the playoff race, it would be an opportunity for Calgary to move him to a contender.

Chicago Blackhawks

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Chicago had a bold offseason bringing back Patrick Kane and adding Bowen Byram for the defense. With how poor their offense was last season, those two will certainly help give them a lift. But with so many young players figuring their games out in the NHL, adding Vladimir Tarasenko to the mix could give the Blackhawks a bit of an insurance policy in case they can't.

Chicago is well-acquainted with Tarasenko after his many seasons with the St. Louis Blues and then again in Minnesota last season. They know about his shot, they know about how he works on the power play and they know how he would fit into their lineup if they wanted to add him.

Although you could argue that bringing Kane back fills that need, you could also argue that Chicago just needs more, especially with Connor Bedard likely missing the start of the season. Tarasenko and his goal scoring could give them a lift when times get tough for their younger players and whatever cuts out those sagging moments would help.