With the Senators being nowhere close to a playoff spot, pending UFA winger Vladimir Tarasenko sits atop their list of trade chips. However, Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch notes that there is some talk that the 32-year-old might prefer to finish the year in Ottawa. Tarasenko can control his fate as he has a full no-move clause. Sticking with them might allow Tarasenko to play a bit higher in the lineup which certainly doesn’t hurt from a negotiating perspective but at the same time, the potential to go deep in the playoffs and contribute could also help his case for securing a multi-year deal on the open market, something he wasn’t able to do last July, instead settling for a one-year, $5MM pact.
Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference:
- Flyers goalie prospect Matej Tomek has signed a one-year extension with Litvinov of the Czech Extraliga, per a team release. The 26-year-old was a third-round pick (90th overall) back in 2015 but struggled in limited college action, resulting in him heading back overseas in 2019. Since then, Tomek has spent time in both Slovakia and Czechia. This season, he has a 3.00 GAA and a .911 SV% in 31 games with Litvinov. The Flyers hold his rights indefinitely so this extension won’t have any impact on that front.
- A day after recalling defenseman Ian Mitchell and assigning Justin Brazeau to the minors, the Bruins reversed those moves, per the AHL’s transactions log. Brazeau scored in his NHL debut back on Monday after his AHL deal was converted to a two-year NHL pact. Mitchell, meanwhile, has been shuffled back and forth several times this season. He has two assists in 13 NHL games so far while adding 14 points in 22 games with Providence.
Tomek has been a Flyers prospect since the Dark Ages.