Vladimir Tarasenko chooses his words wisely. When he speaks, he says "it comes from the heart. I don't really say things I don't care about." He cares deeply about his family, his career and the legacy he can leave in hockey. Tarasenko joined the Red Wings last week because he and his wife decided Detroit is a good place to continue raising their three boys. It's also "one of the most famous, if not the most famous team in the world when you talk about hockey history," Tarasenko said.
"No offense to other teams," he said, "but growing up in Russia, a lot of people followed Detroit because of the Russian Five. When I had my first PlayStation, I was playing for Detroit with my friends. This was a team, in my neighborhood, that we grew up talking about. It's pretty exciting to join the team and wear the jersey and try to help them win."
Tarasenko was a tot when the Russian Five took the NHL by storm. He's 32 now and closer to the end of his career than the start. He just captured his second Cup and is closing in on 300 goals; he still wants more of both. The latter should come easily to him in his first season with the Red Wings, who gave Tarasenko a two-year, $9.5 million deal that lends his life some stability after he bounced between four teams the past two seasons. The former is no sure thing these days in Detroit.
The Red Wings are still playing the long game under Steve Yzerman, adding vets to the roster while waiting for a core on the come. They're trying to get better without going for broke, an especially difficult task in the deep and talented Atlantic Division. The Wings came closer to the playoffs last season than they have in eight years with 91 points, and it will likely take more than that next season to end the drought.
"I feel like last year was very close, and I'm not a person who just comes in and hangs out and enjoys my time and doesn't try to win," Tarasenko said. "I really like winning. We just won the second Cup, but I will do everything I can to help the organization take the next step, help the guys with my experience and just do my best to be able to make the playoffs. That's the reason I came, because I like the way the team played and I believe this team can make the playoffs and do some special things."
Tarasenko is here to score, no two ways about it. The Red Wings have lost more goals than they've gained this offseason and will need at least 20 from Tarasenko next season to even begin making up for that. Tarasenko isn't the 40-goal threat he used to be, but he has 75 over the last three seasons while scoring at about a 28-goal pace. If he stays healthy next season in a featured role on his new team, 30 is within his reach. That would be huge for Detroit.
The Red Wings look talented, but not all that imposing up front. Their top-six wingers -- Tarasenko, Lucas Raymond, Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat -- will have to outscore their defensive deficiencies. Tarasenko is the most rugged player among them, and even he can be a liability without the puck. He did offer some interesting perspective Monday when he praised the Red Wings' defensive growth over the past few seasons. They weren't exactly air-tight last season, bottom 10 in the NHL in both goals and shots against.
"You need to have a good defense in order to win games now and make it to the playoffs," he said. "And I feel like every year we played (them), they got more structured. I feel like especially last year, everybody paid attention to details and played good defense ... Obviously there's a lot of skilled guys who can score, but the way they changed their game to mature and to play at both ends of the ice, it was a good change."
For his own part, Tarasenko said he's never been disinterested in playing in his own zone. "Sometimes I just didn't understand what to do." He's realized over the years, first with the Blues and again with the Panthers, that "you have to (defend) if you want your teams to win championships." The Red Wings will have to defend better, which ultimately means defending less frequently, if they want to get over the playoff hump next season.
But Tarasenko is also the son of a former scoring champion in the Russian Superleague. He smiled and said, "I still like to score goals, don't get me wrong. And I still have some not only team, but personal goals, too. I know a lot of people say when you get older, it's harder to get better, but I believe it's possible."
Kane is a man on a similar mission. Tarasenko is eager to reunite with him after they overlapped briefly with the Rangers a year ago. He's thrilled at the idea of playing on the same line, something they didn't get to do in New York: "It would be amazing." It would require one of them -- Tarasenko, likely -- flipping wings from his typical off-hand spot on the right, perhaps a small concession for creating more offense.
"I think it would be a good fit, just the way he plays," said Kane. "He's obviously a skilled guy, a great shooter, but he works so hard, he's hard on pucks, he wins a lot of pucks back and he's got a great knack for getting open as well."
Kane, on an NHL tour of his own the past two seasons, was an important voice in Tarasenko's decision to join the Wings. When Tarasenko and his wife reached out about possibly making the move, Kane said he and his girlfriend, who have a young son themselves, told them that "the suburbs in Detroit are unbelievable and what a great spot it is to live and raise a family." Kane also vouched for Tarasenko when Yzerman called for insight.
"The way he plays, not just the young guys but the whole team will see how hard he works and how much effort he gives every shift. And that's why he has a couple Cups to his name, too," said Kane. "I think adding that winning presence is going to be huge for the group."
Tarasenko played in a third-line role for the Panthers in the playoffs. More to the point, he was on the ice in every game for the most smothering team in the NHL. The trusted him to play to a heavy, forechecking style that the Red Wings could certainly benefit from. Tarasenko scored at about a 25-goal pace last season in both Florida and Ottawa, but the year took a toll on his family, split between cities for the second season in a row after more than a decade in St. Louis.
"We're obviously very happy for the trust from the (Red Wings) to give us a deal where we can come in and settle and just be together as a family," he said.
Like Kane, Tarasenko was once a cover athlete for EA Sports. Their superstar days are behind them, but they still have video-game talents and plenty to prove. Tarasenko would like to remind everyone that he can still fill the net, while "helping a team step onto the next level," he said. If the Red Wings ever get there, they'll stay there thanks to players like Raymond, DeBrincat and Dylan Larkin. Tarasenko plans to give them a push, like the controller is back in his hands.
"I'm still not satisfied with hockey," he said. "I still love the game a lot."
