If there's one thing that can be said about the Detroit Red Wings, it's that they love goalies.
When they aren't drafting them every season, they're running a three-deep rotation through most of the 82-game slate. This time around, they've decided to add Daniil Tarasov on a one-year, $2M contract.
Tarasov started 30 games for the Florida Panthers this last season, finishing off the year with a .895 save percentage and 3.05 goals against average. Born in Novokuznetsk, Russia, Tarasov was taken in the third round at 86th overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Panthers acquired him during the 2025 offseason, where he later went on to start close to half of the regular season games for the Panthers.
In two contests against the Red Wings, Tarasov went 2-0 with a .926 save percentage.
This is Steve Yzerman's second (third, if you count Carter Mazur) signing of the day. His other notable signing, Viktor Arvidsson, looks like an immediate lock in the team's middle-six.
But there's still an unanswered question that comes with signing Tarasov:
Tarasov's addition puts Postava in questionable spot
This, of course, leaves a 6-foot-2 elephant in the room unanswered: what about Michal Postava? The Grand Rapids Griffins' starting netminder outplayed Sebastian Cossa to the point where the Red Wings moved on from the goalie. He looked to be, by all accounts, the de facto backup in Detroit with Gibson starting the lions' share of play.
Why, then, did the Wings decide to sign Tarasov?
Is it a competition? A lack of trust in Postava? Perhaps the preseason will involve dueling starts from Postava and Tarasov to see who can handle the rigors of a backup role. After all, Steve Yzerman is notorious for bringing on veteran replacement-level players to give prospects competition.
But what's the value in signing a one-year backup at this point in Postava's career? Why not give him a chance to earn NHL minutes? The lack of trust the Red Wings have in their goaltending pipeline is become an increasing concern.
Whether Postava starts as the backup or not, Tarasov looks like an objective upgrade over Cam Talbot.
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