The Seattle Kraken have acquired diminutive left winger Tomas Tatar in a trade with the Colorado Avalanche. In exchange for Tatar, the Avs will receive a fifth-round pick from the Kraken in the 2024 draft. Seattle is looking for a little injection into their lineup. Meanwhile, the Avs can spare Tatar, as he has not been producing up to par, with one goal in 27 games thus far in 2023-24.
TRADE: The #SeaKraken have acquired @TomasTatar90 from Colorado in exchange for a 2024 fifth-round pick.
Get to know the newest member of the squad → https://t.co/R1GslDHkzc pic.twitter.com/r5rkurhVdA
— Seattle Kraken (@SeattleKraken) December 16, 2023
The 33-Year-Old Winger Tomas Tatar Involved in a Trade to the Seattle Kraken
Tomas Tatar has been a consistent scoring threat throughout his NHL career. Seven times he has hit the 20-goal mark, including last season. Moreover, with the New Jersey Devils in 2022-23, Tatar had a decent season. He scored 20 times and added 28 assists. That season was a bit of a resurgence from him, on the high-powered Devils squad. His career-high in points came back in only 2019-20 when he had 22 goals and 61 points with the Montreal Canadiens. For the Avalanche, they were hoping they had the consistent, producer version of Tatar. However, they haven’t been so lucky. Along with the one goal we mentioned, he has only added nine assists. This is all the while playing with a CF% Rel of a regrettable -3.1.
What Does This Mean for the Colorado Avalanche
Given Tatar’s lack of production, it did make sense to move his $1.5 million contract for the Avalanche. The Avalanche need to find a roster alignment that works, with a few injuries right now. Once players start to come back, they will need to shuffle. Players like Pavel Francouz and Artturi Lehkonen will need to work their way into the lineup, so they need room to do that. Also, if they want to make a bigger move, this gives the possibility. With Gabriel Landeskog on LTIR, the Avs do have some room to work with and the desire to do something. Furthermore, the Avs haven’t been so hot lately, seemingly alternating wins and losses. However, they do hold a solid 18-9-2 record overall. So, they aren’t in any dire need but General Manager Chris MacFarland will keep close to the phone.
For the Kraken, General Manager Ron Francis is looking to spark the club offensively. This was a way to potentially achieve that on the value market. Additionally, last year everything seemed fine as they were fifth in the NHL at 3.52 GPG. Fast forward to 2023-24 so far, and the Kraken find themselves last in the entire NHL. It may not be a major move, but at this point, anything counts.
Main photo: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
