Tatar signs two-year, $9 million contract with Devils

Tomas Tatar
signed a two-year, $9 million contract with the New Jersey Devils on Thursday. It has an average annual value of $4.5 million.

"It's been pretty hectic, I'm not going to lie to you," Tatar said Friday. "There were a lot of moving parts around. You've been in touch with the teams, you're discussing the possibilities, the outs, what do you have. After I talked to [Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald and coach Lindy Ruff], I felt very good about it and it was just a matter of [time] to get things done. I was very excited I could find a home in New Jersey and I'm super excited."
The 30-year-old forward said the opportunity to play in New Jersey with centers Nico Hischier, the No. 1 pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, and Jack Hughes, the No. 1 pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, helped make up his mind on where to sign.
"To have a duo like that in the organization, that's just showing you the future is very bright," Tatar said. "They're both extremely talented, smart players, very skilled. That's something I'm really looking forward to. I've played with centers like Pavel Datsyuk or Henrik Zetterberg, or Phil [Danault] for that matter, and I really enjoyed it. To have these two there, it's going to be special for sure."
Tatar, who was an unrestricted free agent, scored 30 points (10 goals, 20 assists) in 50 regular-season games with the Montreal Canadiens last season and had one assist in five Stanley Cup Playoff games.
Tatar, who scored an NHL career-high 61 points (22 goals, 39 assistst) in 68 games with Montreal in 2019-20, said he has no bad feelings about the Canadiens.
"I have a very special heart for Montreal," he said. "The fans, the organization, I had a very good relationship with 'Berge' (Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin). I thought we became close friends as well. I mean, it's a business, it's a hockey decision you have to make or both sides have to make and that's the way it is."
Selected by the Detroit Red Wings in the second round (No. 60) of the 2009 NHL Draft, Tatar has scored 377 points (176 goals, 201 assists) in 625 regular-season games with the Canadiens, Vegas Golden Knights and Red Wings, and 12 points (six goals, six assists) in 40 playoff games.
Prior to last season, Tatar scored at least 20 goals in six straight seasons.

New Jersey also signed forward
Yegor Sharangovich
to a two-year, $4 million contract ($2 million AAV) on Thursday. The 23-year-old, who was a restricted free agent, scored 30 points (16 goals, 14 assists) in 54 games with the Devils last season and was fourth among NHL rookies in goals and points.
Selected by New Jersey in the fifth round (No. 141) of the 2018 NHL Draft, Sharangovich scored three points (two goals, one assist) in seven games for Belarus at the 2021 IIHF World Championship.
The Devils agreed with defenseman Dougie Hamilton on a seven-year, $63 million contract ($9 million AAV) and signed goalie Jonathan Bernier to a two-year, $8.25 million contract ($4.125 million AAV) on July 28.