They may be in new situations, but for a pair of former Detroit Red Wings players, they haven’t made the kind of impact that their new NHL clubs were anticipating.
Both Joe Veleno and Vladimir Tarasenko, who are no longer on the Red Wings roster, are heavily struggling in their new surroundings.
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Veleno now plays for the Montreal Canadiens, having signed with the team during the offseason after being placed on unconditional waivers by the Seattle Kraken for a buyout.
He had been traded by the Red Wings on March 7 to the Chicago Blackhawks for goaltender Petr Mrazek and forward Craig Smith, and later sent to the Kraken on June 21 for André Burakovsky.
Instead of his experience with the Canadiens being a fruitful homecoming for the Quebec-born Veleno, he’s instead struggled with one of the worst starts to an NHL campaign in his entire career. Through the first 13 games with Montreal, Veleno has yet to register a single point.
It was also a rough start for him last season, as he began the campaign with only a single assist in his first 11 games before finally lighting the lamp in his 12th contest against the Blackhawks on Nov. 6.
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Meanwhile, two-time Stanley Cup-winning forward Vladimir Tarasenko, whom the Red Wings traded after a single disappointing season in 2024-25 to the Minnesota Wild on June 30, has only scored twice in the first 18 games of his Minnesota tenure.
Tarasenko was signed in 2024 by the Red Wings just weeks after he helped the Florida Panthers win the Stanley Cup, and he was expected to provide timely offense as he’s done throughout his NHL career. However, Tarasenko managed just 11 goals with 22 assists in the 80 games he played in what would be his only campaign in Detroit.
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Tarasenko, who scored his first career NHL goal against the Red Wings as a member of the St. Louis Blues in January 2013, can become an unrestricted free agent in the upcoming offseason, as can Veleno.
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The Red Wings selected Veleno in the opening round (30th overall) of the 2018 NHL Draft with the first-round pick they acquired from the Vegas Golden Knights in the Tomas Tatar trade.
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