COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — The Columbus Blue Jackets have traded goaltender Daniil Tarasov on Thursday to the Florida Panthers in exchange for a fifth-round pick, 160th overall, in the 2025 NHL Draft. The announcement was made by Don Waddell, the club’s President of Hockey Operations and General Manager.
Tarasov, 26, has been with the Blue Jackets since making his NHL debut in the 2021-22 season. Over his career with the team, he recorded a 19-34-6 record, a 3.44 goals-against average (GAA), a .898 save percentage (SV%), and one shutout in 65 appearances. In the 2024-25 season, he posted a 7-10-2 record with a 3.54 GAA and .881 SV% in 20 games.
“On behalf of the Blue Jackets, I’d like to thank Daniil for his contributions to our organization over the past four years,” said Waddell. “He is an outstanding young man and we wish he and his family well in the future.”
A native of Novokuznetsk, Russia, Tarasov also played for the Cleveland Monsters in the American Hockey League, where he went 17-12-3 with a 3.25 GAA and .894 SV% in 34 games. In the 2024-25 season, he finished with a 1-1-0 record, a 2.96 GAA, and a .908 SV% in two appearances with Cleveland.
The 2025 Upper Deck NHL Draft will take place this Friday and Saturday at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. The Blue Jackets now hold the 14th and 20th overall picks in the first round and have six selections on the second day of the draft. The first round will be broadcast live on ESPN and ESPN+ starting at 7 p.m. with coverage of rounds 2-7 on Saturday on NHL Network and ESPN+ at noon.