It didn't take long for the back-to-back Stanley Cup champions to find their new backup.
The Florida Panthers acquired Daniil Tarasov from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for a fifth-round pick in this week's draft, the team announced on Thursday.
Tarasov, scheduled to become a restricted free agent on July 1, will slot in behind Sergei Bobrovsky, after starting 19 games this season for the Blue Jackets and posting a 7-10-2 record.
The 26-year-old has started a 65 games with 19 wins and a 3.44 goals-against average over his four-year career after being drafted 86th overall by the Blue Jackets in 2017.
Bobrovsky, 36, is entering the final year of his seven-year, $70-million deal.
“On behalf of the Blue Jackets, I’d like to thank Daniil for his contributions to our organization over the past four years,” Columbus general manager Don Waddell said. “He is an outstanding young man, and we wish he and his family well in the future.”
Filling that spot with Vitek Vanecek expected to depart as an unrestricted free agent, Florida now turns to trying to re-sign some combination of playoff MVP Sam Bennett, trade-deadline pickup Brad Marchand and longtime cornerstone defenceman Aaron Ekblad.
With files from Associated Press
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