Vladimir Tarasenko, a two-time Stanley Cup champion, is signed by the Red Wings from the Panthers.

The Detroit Red Wings extended their raid on the Stanley Cup-winning Florida Panthers on Wednesday when they signed winger Vladimir Tarasenko to a $9.5 million, two-year contract.

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The 32-year-old Tarasenko is the sixth member of Florida’s starting lineup from Game 7 to go in free agency; this is a frequent occurrence in the NHL as other teams want to duplicate their success. Through the 2025–2026 season, the winner of the 2019 and 2024 Cup will have $4.75 million counted against the wage cap. This agreement has a one-year no-trade clause and two-year limited protection.

He joins the Red Wings, who are attempting to snap an eight-season playoff drought, along with three-time champion Patrick Kane. Kane re-signed for $4 million plus additional incentives totaling $2.5 million.

Following the addition of Tarasenko, Detroit parted ways with one of his former St. Louis Blues teammates, trading goaltender prospect Gage Alexander, 22, to Anaheim in exchange for forward Robby Fabbri and a conditional 2025 fourth-round pick.

Tarasenko joined the Panthers before the trade deadline and scored five goals and sent out four assists as they marched to their first-ever championship.

Sam Reinhart renewed his contract for $69 million spread over eight years, while the core group led by captain Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk is still in place. Earlier in the day, restricted free agent young forward Anton Lundell agreed to a six-year, $30 million deal.

Naturally, it is not feasible to retain everyone if there is not an endless cap capacity. Forwards Ryan Lomberg in Calgary and Kevin Stenlund in Utah, defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson and backup goalie Anthony Stolarz in Toronto, and winger Brandon Montour in Seattle all signed. Josh Mahura, who played 30 games for the Panthers in the regular season and was a mainstay on the team’s blue line during their 2023 run to the championship, is rejoining Montour following his signing of a $775,000 deal with the Kraken.

Philadelphia re-signed RFA forward Bobby Brink for $3 million over two years, while Columbus added veteran defender Jack Johnson for $775,000 for the next season. These were among the other deals made throughout the league on Wednesday.

In particular, the young defenseman we have in our organization will benefit greatly from the addition of Jack Johnson, a consummate professional who has been a very successful player and leader in this league for many years, according to general manager Don Waddell. “We are thrilled to welcome him back. He is in great shape, plays a simple, hard game, has won a Stanley Cup, and has a great passion for this city and organization.”

In 2022, Johnson and Colorado won the Cup. After losing to Florida in the championship game, Edmonton is trying to emulate the Panthers by winning a year later. With the exception of defender Vincent Desharnais and forwards Warren Foegele and Sam Carrick, the Oilers only lost a small number of depth players. They were able to sign free agents Connor Brown, Corey Perry, Adam Henrique, Mattias Janmark, Troy Stecher, and Calvin Pickard.

Earlier this week, Jeff Jackson, CEO of hockey operations, stated, “I think these guys all believe in their teammates.” “We’re glad to have all those guys back, and their return tells me everything I need to know about this team.”

Along with adding veteran forwards Viktor Arvidsson and Jeff Skinner, Jackson and the front office also brought in 30-year-old Josh Brown to replace Desharnais. According to BetMGM Sportsbook, the Oilers and Panthers are early joint favorites to win the Stanley Cup in 2025.

Henrique, who took a wage cut of about 50% to stay, stated he did it “just to have the chance to win.” “I believe there is a unique group there. I really wished there had been more of this year because I had so much fun.