Red Wings trade Vladimir Tarasenko.

We have a trade.

According to an official announcement on Monday, the Detroit Red Wings have traded veteran forward Vladimir Tarasenko to the Minnesota Wild for... well nothing. All the Red Wings will receive in return are "future considerations" which can translate to a very low-end type of draft pick or, more often than not, nothing at all.

Tarasenko is coming off of a relatively underwhelming season with the Red Wings, one in which he scored 11 goals and added 22 assists for a total of 33 points. Although Tarasenko was able to produce offensively, albeit not nearly at the pace he has in the past, his defensive liabilities also remained a factor. Tarasenko finished the season with a plus minus rating of -13.

Tarasenko is entering the second year of a 2 year deal that he signed with the Red Wings just one year ago. That deal carries a significant cap hit with an average annual value of $4.75 million per season, which is likely at the center of the trade we see today.

By dealing Tarasenko the Red Wings clear significant cap space ahead of free agency tomorrow, while the Wild acquire a player for effectively nothing but the cap space required to fit him onto their roster.

Stay tuned for more details.