SUNRISE, Fla. – Florida Panthers President of Hockey Operations & General Manager Bill Zitoannounced today that the club has agreed to terms with goaltender Daniil Tarasov on a one-year contract.
“Daniil is an athletic sized goaltender with National Hockey League experience and carries a tremendous pedigree from his junior career,” said Zito. “Our Goaltending Excellence Department was very high on him, and we are very opportunistic about his future with our franchise.”
Tarasov, 26, appeared in 20 games with the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2024-25, registering a 7-10-2 record, .881 save percentage and 3.54 goals against average. He posted his first NHL shutout on Jan. 18 against the New York Rangers, turning aside all 26 shots he faced in regulation and overtime. Additionally, he logged a 1-1-0 record, .908 save percentage and 2.96 goals against average in two appearances with Columbus’ American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters.
The 6-foot-5, 203-pound native of Novokuznetsk, Russia has played in 65 career NHL games, all with Columbus between 2021-22 and 2024-25, amassing a 19-34-6 record, .898 save percentage and 3.44 goals against average. He also appeared in 34 AHL games with the Monsters from 2020-21 to 2024-25, logging a 17-12-3 record, .894 save percentage and 3.25 goals against average.
Prior to his North American career, Tarasov competed in 18 Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) games with Salavat Yulaev Ufa in 2018-19 and 2020-21, producing an 11-4-3 record, .924 save percentage and 2.13 goals against average.
On the international stage, Tarasov earned a bronze medal representing his home country at the 2019 IIHF U20 World Junior Championship, registering a 2-0-0 record in that tournament. He also competed for Russia at the 2016 IIHF U18 World Junior Champion, recording a 2-1-0 record, .921 save percentage and 2.11 goals against average.
Tarasov was originally selected by the Blue Jackets in the third round (86th overall) of the 2017 NHL Draft.
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