Avs send Tatar to Seattle for draft pick
Tatar hasn’t produced as hoped after he was a late-offseason depth addition
The Tomar Tatar experiment is over in Colorado.
After signing the veteran forward to a one-year deal in September, the Avalanche sent Tatar to the Seattle Kraken for a 2024 fifth-round pick, the team announced Friday night.
The 33-year-old Slovakian wing appeared in 27 games for Colorado this season, compiling nine points total, although just one of those was a goal. It was a far cry from his production with the New Jersey Devils (20 goals and 28 assists) last season, and not on par with his regular-season output in the first 12 seasons of his career when he scored 20 goals seven times.
Tatar began the season on the Avs’ third line, and was shuffled around the lineup. One of his best games came playing next to Nathan Mackinnon on the top line, but that assignment was brief. He’s been a healthy scratch twice, and his average time on ice (11:17) this season is more than three minutes per contest lower than any of his previous 10 full seasons in the NHL.
He found some success as a playmaker, and there was some bad luck involved with only scoring one time in 27 games — which came Monday night against Calgary. The biggest issue with his offensive production was the lack of shots on goal. Tatar had just 19, which is 15 fewer than anyone who’s had regular ice time with one of the top three lines.
Colorado added Tatar late in the offseason process. He was a low-cost, low-risk depth addition with a $1.5 million cap hit. He had tried to secure a more lucrative deal earlier in the summer, but relatively little movement with the salary cap ceiling over the past few years has led to some players getting forced to taking “show me” contracts.
Logan O’connor’s ascension from the fourth line to the third, plus Joel Kiviranta’s play on the fourth since joining the club, left the Avs with an extra forward in the top nine when Artturi Lehkonen returns from a neck injury.
By moving Tatar, the Avs will have a little more financial flexibility if they decide to pursue other additions before the trade deadline. Colorado is well over the salary cap ceiling, but putting Gabriel Ladeskog, Pavel Francouz and Lehkonen on long
term injured reserve gives the club an exemption to operate above the $83.5 million limit.
Lehkonen’s $4.5 million hit will go back on the daily cap ledger once he’s back in the lineup. The Avs do not get relief from Samuel Girard’s $5 million cap hit while he is in the NHL/ NHLPA player assistance program.
Once Lehkonen and Girard return, the Avs will likely send two players to the minors though it could be three to maximize cap space. If Colorado has everyone healthy from opening night, with Kiviranta in Tatar’s place on the roster and Sam Malinski, Caleb Jones and Ben Meyers back with the Colorado Eagles in the AHL, Avs general manager Chris Macfarland would have $3.25 million in space to work with, per Capfriendly.