Assessing Future Of 5 Struggling New Jersey Devils Players

Tomas Tatar

The Devils fanbase was celebrating to the high heavens when they signed Tomas Tatar. He was an analytical darling despite getting benched in the postseason by the Montreal Canadiens. It was clear he needed a change of scenery, and the Devils felt like a good spot to do it. He could slot in next to Nico Hischier or Pavel Zacha and add an offensive flair to the top nine somewhere. Heck, he could even fill in next to Jack Hughes in a pinch.

That’s obviously not how it worked out. Tatar is on the third line like we expected could happen, but it’s with Jesper Boqvist. He’s struggling to score in his first season with the Devils. He has 22 points in 51 games. That’s not nearly enough. The Devils were hoping he would be at least a 55-60 point player. Right now, he’s on pace for 32 points.

Tatar, unlike the other players on this list, is a veteran. He’s had ups and downs and he knows how to work through them. Tatar just needs to find the right chemistry on the Devils. Honestly, it feels like by the end of the season, the Devils will try him with Nico Hischier again. They don’t want to completely call Tatar a sunk cost. He has value to the franchise despite not having much value outside of it.

Tatar just needs to get to the end of the season and try to get a point streak before it’s over. The Devils just need confidence from Tatar. He looks like he’s going through the motions, and that’s when he’s at his worst. Once he gets motivated, which will likely happen if the Devils are remotely competitive, Tatar will be a little better.