Tarasenko turns down offers from two Stanley Cup contenders to sign in Ottawa

Vladimir Tarasenko officially joined the Ottawa Senators last night, signing a 1-year, $5M deal with the Sens. The addition of Tarasenko should help to offset some of the production lost from trading Alex DeBrincat to Detroit.

The 31-year-old is coming off of a down season, scoring just 18 goals in 69 games between the St. Louis Blues and New York Rangers, but had 34 goals the year prior. He has scored 270 goals in his 11-year career.

According to Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic, Tarasenko's first option wasn't Ottawa and that he had actually turned down offers from two Stanley Cup contenders in Florida and Carolina to sign in Ottawa. San Jose was believed to have had interest in the Stanley Cup champion as well.

There could be a handful of reasons why Tarasenko turned down Florida and Carolina, such as the money they offered, or it could have just been the simple fact that he took a "prove it" deal with a team that he feels will give him the best chance to pile up the goals and points in hopes of getting a better deal next summer.