After a long wait, Vladimir Tarasenko has a new team. He agreed to a one-year, $5 million deal with the Senators yesterday. The contract includes a no-trade clause.

The former Blues forward was acquired by the Rangers last season to upgrade the roster. It took some time for him to find his footing. But once he settled in, Tarasenko posted solid numbers. He had eight goals and 13 assists for a total of 21 points in 31 games.

In the postseason, he scored three goals and added a helper in the first round. Unfortunately, the Rangers came up on the losing side against the Devils in seven games. Like most of the players, Tarasenko was up and down in the series. When it ended, he sounded open to a return. The issue always was the small amount of cap space.

It was never realistic. While I liked Tarasenko’s overall game, the idea of re-signing him probably would’ve been a detriment to the few young forwards on the roster. That includes Alexis Lafreniere, who, for some reason, remains unsigned. The Rangers have just over three million left after giving K’Andre Miller a bridge deal. I guess they’re going to squeeze every penny out of Lafreniere, who isn’t even gonna get $3 million.

As for Tarasenko, he joins his third team. An established star with the Blues where he scored 30-plus goals in six seasons, he joins a promising Senators team that has a chance to make the playoffs. The interesting thing is that they were rumored to be in on Tarasenko after he turned down the Hurricanes earlier this month. The change of agents didn’t matter. He settled on a one-year contract to play for Ottawa. If he has a big season, he can reset the market next summer.

Tarasenko joins veteran Claude Giroux as the two proven stars on a younger roster that features captain Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stutzle, Drake Batherson, and the expected return of Josh Norris. With the addition of Tarasenko, they shouldn’t miss Alex DeBrincat. He was dealt to the Red Wings. Dominik Kubalik came back as part of the trade. He’s a top nine forward who can play power play. Mathieu Joseph is a depth player. They added former Flyer Zach McEwen to beef up.

Only Shane Pinto remains unsigned. The Sens don’t have much room at the moment to re-sign the restricted free agent. He’s a promising center that can score goals. He was in the same draft class as Kaapo Kakko. Pinto scored 20 goals in his first full season.

By also signing Joonas Korpisalo to form a tandem with solid backup Anton Forsberg, the Senators could be in the mix for the wildcard. It’ll depend on a blue line that features Thomas Chabot, Jakob Chychrun, and promising youngster Jake Sanderson.

Adding Tarasenko is a good move for Ottawa. If he fits in like Giroux, he could hit 30 goals for the seventh time in his career. The best part is he won’t be asked to be the guy. That falls on the dynamic duo of Stutzle and Tkachuk. Two emerging stars who both continue to improve.

Offense shouldn’t be a problem. Defense and goaltending must hold up. If it does, the Senators have a good shot at the playoffs. Along with the Sabres, they could replace the Bruins, who could lose David Krejci following the retirement of Patrice Bergeron. Their top two centers are Charlie Coyle and Pavel Zacha. A big drop-off.

The Bruins still boast a solid defense anchored by Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm. They have a good goalie tandem in Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman. David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand will be asked to do the heavy lifting. Jake DeBrusk must repeat his production. They lost several players, including Dmitry Orlov, Taylor Hall, Tyler Bertuzzi, Garnet Hathaway, and Connor Clifton. If you add Krejci to that list with Bergeron, that’s a lot to overcome.

The Red Wings are hoping the addition of DeBrincat can boost their chances to return to the postseason. The process has been slow under GM Steve Yzerman. With questionable additions on the back end, it isn’t a guarantee that they’ll be better. The Atlantic remains a strong division thanks to the Maple Leafs, Lightning, and Panthers. Those should be the top three teams. Then, you have the Bruins trying to hold off the 0 Sabres, and Red Wings. Only the Canadiens look like a long shot. It shapes up to be a very competitive division.