900-Game NHL Veteran Officially Inks Surprising 2-Year Deal

It looks like the NHL career of former Detroit Red Wings forward Tomas Tatar, who played the 1st several years of his NHL career with the team, has come to a close.

It was announced that Tatar has signed overseas with EV Zug in Switzerland with a 2-year contract after playing this year with the New Jersey Devils, his 2nd go-around with the team.

He was set to become a UFA on July 1.

He was taken with the 60th overall pick by the Red Wings in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, and was once thought of as a foundational piece to build around.

But the Red Wings traded Tatar in 2018 to the Vegas Golden Knights for a 1st round pick that was eventually used to take Joe Veleno, whose tenure with Detroit ended earlier this year with a trade to the Chicago Blackhawks.

After losing in the Stanley Cup Final with Vegas to the Capitals, Tatar signed with Detroit's divisional foe, the Montreal Canadiens. He'd play several years with the Canadiens before deciding to sign a 2-year deal with the New Jersey Devils in 2021.

He'd eventually help the Devils to a 1st round upset of the hated New York Rangers in 2023, scoring in Game 7.

Tatar then had brief and uneventful tenures with both the Colorado Avalanche and Seattle Kraken before returning to the Devils last summer.

But his output with the Devils this year dipped to just 17 points (7G, 10A) in 74 games; he also went pointless in 4 postseason games for New Jersey as they were eliminated in Round 1 by the Carolina Hurricanes.