Tomas Tatar
Ryan Graves chose Pittsburgh. The Devils sent Damon Severson to Columbus. Miles Wood signed a ridiculous contract with Colorado. The only major Devils free agent yet to sign somewhere is Tomas Tatar. The Devils winger had a really good season, posting 48 points over 82 games. He spent most of the season on Nico Hischier’s wing, scoring 20 goals along the way.
However, he was dreadful in the playoffs. Tatar scored one goal (his only point) in 12 playoff games. That one goal should have been John Marino’s, but Tatar was able to clean up on an insane save. Tatar was absolutely invisible for most of the postseason.
Maybe the Devils fell out of love with the veteran winger after his playoff performance. He had similar no-shows with the Canadiens and Golden Knights before they let him go. He did help this team get to third in the NHL. Tatar scored big goals. Can they find a way to get his head right for the postseason? With Toffoli in the lineup, Tatar must take a lesser role to stick around.
Maybe that lesser role will take the pressure off. Either way, would it be the worst thing in the world to bring Tatar back at a much smaller number? If the Devils could give Tatar a one-year deal for around $2 million, it could make sense.