One of the New Jersey Devils‘ pending UFAs has already decided where he will play next season. Tomas Tatar has signed a two-year contract to play overseas next season. He will be joining EV Zug in the National League (NL) in Switzerland. With that, Tatar’s 14-year NHL career presumably comes to an end.
Tatar Moves To Switzerland
New Jersey general manager Tom Fitzgerald and the Devils have one less free agent to deal with in the offseason. That’s because Tatar has signed a two-year contract to join Swiss club EV Zug, beginning next season. This will be the first time that Tatar will play in Europe since his eight-game stint with Piestany SHK 37 in his home nation, Slovakia. That was in the 2012-13 season when the NHL experienced a half-season lockout.
EV Zug is a relatively successful club in the NL, winning two championships in the last five seasons. However, they have not advanced to the NL final since the 2021-22 campaign. Another former NHL winger, Dominik Kubalik, also joined EV Zug on May 9. Kubalik signed a two-year contract as well.
Fourteen Seasons In The NHL
Tatar has had a long NHL career, playing parts of 14 seasons with six different teams. He was drafted by the Detroit Red Wings and was selected 60th overall in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. After two seasons in Detroit’s farm system, playing for the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins, he became a full-time NHL forward from the 2012-13 season onward. Tatar was a respectable goalscorer in the NHL, recording seven 20-goal seasons, including six campaigns in a row.
The 34-year-old’s best years were with the Montreal Canadiens from 2018 to 2021. Furthermore, in the 2019-20 campaign, he hit a personal best of 61 points. He put up 22 goals and 39 assists that year in 68 games. That season was cut short due to COVID-19. One season later, he helped the young Canadiens advance to the Stanley Cup final.
Main Photo Credit: Matt Blewett-Imagn Images