As he enters year two of a two-year deal with the New Jersey Devils, Tomas Tatar wants to do more. He knows he can contribute more, and while he entered the long offseason with a sour taste in his mouth from last season, he came back for this season with a renewed sense of confidence and responsibility to help get the team moving in the right direction.
“We made some additions in the off-season, adding experience and I think that’s something we were lacking last year. There are more guys here who have played more games here now and I think that’s just going to make us stronger,” he recently told Pucks and Pitchforks.
Tatar himself has over 700 games of NHL experience and possibly won a roster spot this season over fellow veteran forward Andreas Johnsson, who found himself on waivers and eventually sent to the AHL. But the Slovakian forward never doubted that he had a spot in New Jersey carved out for himself.
“No. No, I know what I’m capable of. I wasn’t worried at all,” Tatar said. “There is healthy competition (here), there is nothing wrong with that, a lot of young, talented guys are coming. I know what I’m here for and everyone is battling hard. The young guys show a lot of promise, but I focus on myself, my job, and I know why I’m here. I don’t have anything against healthy competition and it’s always up to coaches and GMs for who is here. But I know where I belong.”
“I’m feeling pretty good,” he added. “I worked hard this summer to come here and prove a point. I was excited and angered (about last season) and that kind of drove me throughout the summer.”
tuna puts it home. pic.twitter.com/uyuEdqxoCJ
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) October 25, 2022
The 31-year-old finished the preseason strong with three goals, and after a slow start to the regular season, Tatar picked up his first two points of the season in the Devils’ last two games. But throughout the first seven games, he’s been active, annoying to play against and averaging three shots on goal per game.
“It’s a lot easier to come in for a second year, knowing the environment and stuff like that. It was tough the last few seasons with covid and everything and this time I was able to get ready the right way and prepare,” Tatar said. “It’s not just me, the whole team after the season was pretty unhappy with how things went and we wanted to come back stronger.”
“We all want to be better, right? It’s not guaranteed we are going to be better. It’s all about the work ethic that you bring here every day, and like I said with more guys here with experience that brings the work ethic up and there are different voices in the locker room who can correct stuff. That’s great news and very positive for us; it’s exciting.”
It’s early, but the results so far have been promising for Jersey’s Team. When they are cohesive and dictating the pace of play, they are a hard team to beat. Just ask the Isles and Wings who felt the brunt of that over this past week.
“I just want to play and be a part of a team, make the most of this opportunity. I feel like last year was such a mess and I didn’t really know how to feel about it after it was over, admitted at the end of the preseason. “I was very unhappy with how things went here and how we ended up. That drove me through the summer to get ready and put everything behind me, and start fresh. I’m ready to build something here that we are all here for.”
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“I took my time off, make sure my body felt good and I know how much time I have until the season starts. I know exactly what to do to be prepared and ready for the start. I worked hard and I feel like I’m ready. I didn’t feel this good for a long time; I feel I have power and hopefully, things go well. You never know. It’s not an easy league to play in, and you could get ready all you want and sometimes things won’t go your way. But I’m very happy with how things have turned out here and I see a lot of positives in our game.”
If Tatar can provide 15-20 goals and get close to his career-high point total of 61 (2019-20 with Montreal), the Devils should be in good shape at achieving their goal of playing meaningful games after the calendar flips to 2023.