New Jersey Devils: 5 Players Who Can Raise Their Value Down The Stretch
By Nick Villano
Tomas Tatar
The Devils haven’t had the season they were expecting from Tomas Tatar when they gave him a two-year, $9 million contract this past offseason. He hasn’t been terrible, but the team expected to get more than 12 goals this season. The Devils thought they were getting a 20-goal scorer coming off a strange season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, it seems like Tatar is just not the player he used to be.
Tatar has been pretty inconsistent this season. He’ll go on runs where he will have three points in four games, but then he will be kept off the scoresheet for six games straight. He has 15 games to show he can become a consistent scorer. Lindy Ruff is still trying to find the best line for him, but if he finds chemistry with someone, it will go a long way.
This might be the last that we see of Tatar in a Devils uniform. The Devils might look to see what his value is on the open market. Next year will be the last year of his deal, so the Devils can make it more valuable by eating half of his contract without it being a huge issue. It would only impact the cap for one season, and it opens a spot for the Devils to make a deal elsewhere.
Tatar could also show that consistency the Devils are looking for and prove he just needed time to find chemistry in this lineup. There’s a lot to prove for Tatar over the last month of the season.