The Bruins have spent the summer talking like a team that believes it can push back into the playoff picture, but there is still room for one more swing before camp opens in less than a month. Among the free agents still hanging around, Vladimir Tarasenko stands out as the name not getting nearly enough attention.
At 34, Tarasenko is no longer the pure scoring machine he was earlier in his career, but last season with the Wild showed he still has plenty left. He played 75 games and produced 23 goals and 24 assists for 47 points, then added two goals and three assists in 11 playoff games. The finishing touch is still there, even if the overall package has changed.
His best work came from the middle of the ice. NHL Edge had him with 60 shots from mid-range, which placed him in the 88th percentile. That kind of shot profile matters for a Bruins team that needed more punch after a first-round loss to the Sabres, when it scored more than two goals only twice in six games.
That is the real appeal here. Tarasenko does not need to be a centerpiece to matter.
A PTO would give Boston a chance to see whether he can still deliver the kind of secondary scoring this roster could use, with the possibility of a 20-plus-goal, 40-50-point season still in play. For a team looking to squeeze more offense out of its lineup, that is worth considering.
If he makes sense in Boston, the fit is pretty straightforward. Tarasenko would slide into the middle six, with one possible look having him on the second line with Elias Lindholm and Morgan Geekie.
He could also serve as the third winger and give James Hagens another veteran to learn from. On special teams, he could work into one of the Bruins’ two power-play units as the finisher, the guy expected to turn movement into a goal.
There is also the locker-room piece. The Bruins already have leaders in Charlie McAvoy, David Pastrnak, and Hampus Lindholm, but Tarasenko brings a different kind of credibility. He has been around long enough to know what winning looks like, and his 50 career playoff goals say plenty about the level he has reached.
For Boston, this would be a low-risk, high-reward move that could deepen the lineup and maybe give the club one more scoring layer. In a market where useful help is still available, Tarasenko is a PTO option worth a real look.
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