Tarasenko reportedly rejected contract offers from these three teams before signing in Ottawa

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Cooper Godin
July 28, 2023 (7:25)

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Former St. Louis Blues and New York Rangers forward Vladimir Tarasenko was expected to be a hot commodity on the free agent market.

The 31-year-old didn't sign with anyone on July 1st, reportedly came close to a deal with the Carolina Hurricanes and then decided to change which agency he was being represented by.

On Thursday, Tarasenko finally decided where he'll be playing next season as he inked a one-year, $5 million contract with the Ottawa Senators, which is a huge add to their young top-six forward group.

According to Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic, prior to signing with the Ottawa Senators, Tarasenko rejected contract offers from the Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers and the San Jose Sharks.

Tarasenko, a native of Yaroslavl, Russia was traded to the New York Rangers in February by St. Louis after spending parts of 11 seasons with the Blues. In 69 games between the Blues and Rangers, Tarasenko put up 50 points (18 goals, 32 assists), eight penalty minutes and was a minus-14.

It's been a fairly busy summer for Senators general manager Pierre Dorion as he looked to add pieces to help his team compete for a playoff spot next season. In addition to signing Tarasenko, they went out and added a starting goaltender - Joonas Korpisalo - something they've been needing for quite a while now. They also added Dominik Kubalik and Donovan Sebrango in a deal with the Detroit Red Wings involving Alex DeBrincat.

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