Let the offseason begin.
The Columbus Blue Jackets made their first trade of the offseason Thursday, dealing restricted free agent goaltender Daniil Tarasov to the Florida Panthers.
In exchange, the Blue Jackets are acquiring a fifth-round draft pick from the Panthers, selection #160 overall.
They'll make that selection Saturday, the second and final day of the 2025 NHL Draft. The Blue Jackets now own eight total draft picks this year: the 14th and 20th overall selections in round one, as well as one pick in the third (77th), fourth (109th), fifth (160th), sixth (173rd) and two more in the seventh round (205th and 218th).
"On behalf of the Blue Jackets, I’d like to thank Daniil for his contributions to our organization over the past four years,” said President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Don Waddell.
“He is an outstanding young man, and we wish he and his family well in the future.”
Columbus had until Monday to come to terms with Tarasov on a new contract or he would have become an unrestricted free agent, allowing him to sign with any team. Moving him paves the way for a permanent roster spot for rookie Jet Greaves, who dazzled in his limited action during the 2024-25 season.
Tarasov, 26, made his debut with the Blue Jackets in the 2021-22 season. He made 65 total appearances with the club, posting a 19-34-6 record in that time. He had an .898 save percentage while in Columbus and a 3.44 goals against average.
This season, Tarasov was 7-10-2 with an .881 save percentage and 3.54 goals against average in limited action.
Tarasov was originally a third-round pick by the Blue Jackets in the 2017 NHL Draft.
