Four Potential Offer-Sheet Teams For Vladimir Tarasenko
By Kate Cimini
Apr 9, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Members of the Colorado Avalanche celebrate with Colorado Avalanche goalie Reto Berra (20) after the game against the Winnipeg Jets at Pepsi Center. Colorado Avalanche won 1-0 in a shootout. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
The Colorado Avalanche
The Avs, who missed the playoffs by a wider margin then their management probably cares to admit, winning just 39 of 82 games in regulation, would almost certainly be among the first to take a good, hard look at their finances to see if they can afford to take on Tarasenko’s salary.
Live Feed
Blue Line Station
They would absolutely benefit from Tarasenko’s 50 points (25 goals and 25 assists, not too shabby) and top-five goals-for percentage. The Avalanche’s best player in the goals/60 category is Jarome Iginla at an average of 1.02 goals scored per game and 1.13 assists per game. He sits at 34th in the league and is 37. His age makes Iginla’s accomplishments all that more impressive, but he’s on the downward slope of his career, racking up almost 50 points fewer per-season than he was at his peak (which, in accordance with independent studies on peak performance, was at approximately 28 years of age for the forward).
The Avs have another couple in the top 100 in goals/60 (Tanguay and Duchene), but the most successful teams in the league have far more; the Blues themselves have six while division rivals (and second-round team) Chicago Blackhawks have five.
According to WAR on ice, Colorado had the second-worst Corsi-For % in the league this season at 43.2%, indicating that the Avalanche only had control of the puck 43% of the time they were on the ice. While Tarasenko wasn’t the highest-ranked forward in Corsi-For, but as we already mentioned, he’s no slouch. His 54.97% average would be a boon to a team with an aging superstar like Iginla and whose highest Corsi-For% on the team belongs to Nathan McKinnon at a sub-par 48.6%.
That, for a player like McKinnon, is ridiculous and speaks to the problems the Avalanche had on depth and puck possession. While Colorado’s needs extend beyond simply one superstar forward, a piece like Vladimir Tarasenko would be hard to pass up if the money is available.
Their interest would certainly spark some fierce competition from the Blues, considering the fact that Colorado and St. Louis are division rivals.
Next: Second