The New Jersey Devils have agreed to terms with unrestricted free-agent forward Tomas Tatar on a one-year contract worth $1,800,000. The announcement was made by New Jersey Devils President/General Manager Tom Fitzgerald.
Tatar, 33, split last season with Colorado (1g-8a in 27 games) and Seattle (8g-7a in 43 games). He joined Colorado after spending two seasons (2021-22 & 2022-23) with New Jersey, a season highlighted by Tatar helping the team reach the Second Round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs. During his first stint with the Devils, he scored 35 goals and 43 assists for 78 points over 158 games and holds the third highest plus/minus rating in a single New Jersey season with a plus-41 in 2022-23. He added one goal in 12 games during the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs. In 853 career NHL regular-season games over 10 seasons with Detroit, Vegas, Montreal, New Jersey, Colorado and Seattle, Tatar has recorded 220 goals and 259 assists for 479 points and 296 penalty minutes. Tatar has nine seasons of 15 or more goals, and seven where he hit the 20-goal mark.
Tatar spent three seasons, 2018-19 to 2020-21, with the Montreal Canadiens where in 2020-21 he scored 30 points (10g-20a) in 50 games, ranking third amongst the club's forwards. The two previous seasons he finished first (2019-20, 22g-39a-61pts) and second (2018-19, 25g-33a-58pts) in scoring for Montreal. Entering the abbreviated 2020-21 season, Tatar had seven straight years of 19 or more goals (the last six of which were 20-plus). He's added seven goals and six assists in 52 Stanley Cup Playoff contests.
Born on December 1, 1990, the native of Ilava, Slovakia was Detroit's second-round selection, 60th overall, in the 2009 NHL Draft. Tatar spent four seasons with Grand Rapids (AHL) in the Red Wings system before becoming a full-time NHLer. In 2012-13, the Griffins won the Calder Cup and Tatar earned the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as AHL Playoffs MVP with a league-leading 16 goals. Before coming to North America, the 30-year-old spent time in the HK Dukla Trencin and HK Dubnica programs in Slovakia.
Tatar has represented his home country in international play, participating at the U-20 World Junior Championship (WJC) in 2009 & 2010, the IIHF World Championship in 2010, 2012 (silver medal), 2014, 2015 and 2019 (alternate captain), 2022 (captain), 2024 (captain), the 2014 Olympic Winter Games and 2016 World Cup of Hockey (runner-up with Team Europe). He most recently represented Slovakia at the 2024 Worlds where he was teammates with Devils defenseman Simon Nemec.
