According to Bally Sports' Andy Strickland, Tarasenko had multiple bids for his services from several teams, who made higher offers for him than he ended up signing for on a one-year deal. Even Ottawa initially offered a multi-year deal at the same salary.
Five days into free agency, Tarasenko, unhappy with the work of his representative, fired his first agent. It has also been reported that it was Tarasenko's first choice to stay with the Rangers. Unfortunately, his agent fumbled the ball there and Tarasenko became a cap casualty in New York.
I'm sure that Tarasenko is happy to be signed now and will now turn his attention away from the $22,000,000 in guaranteed money that he missed out on and towards the upcoming season.