Carolina Hurricanes: Targeting Tomas “The Tuna” Tatar

With the first wave of the free-agent frenzy already over, most of the players the Canes could have signed to fill their top six out have signed elsewhere already. We know that the Hurricanes made an offer to winger Brandon Saad, who would go on to sign with the St Louis Blues, but one player that is still out there with no team to call home is Tomas Tatar.

Coming off a run to the Stanely Cup Finals with the Montreal Canadiens, and only losing to a team that was $20 million over the salary cap, Tatar is out of contract. As someone who has tremendous underlying numbers, he is a very Carolina-Esque pick-up in the Eric Tulsky era. It’s no secret that the Slovakian winger has been wanted by fans for a few weeks now.

At 30 years young, Tatar has been around in the NHL. He was originally drafted by Detroit in the 2009 NHL entry draft, 60th overall. Since then he was traded to Vegas for a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd (Fun fact, that 3rd was the 3rd round pick the Canes got in the Alex Nedeljkovic trade). He was then used as a cap dump in the Max Pacioretty deal. Only to be a welcome surprise.

Tatar struggled in Vegas, and everyone knew it. 20 games with only 4 goals and 2 assists showed that this was not the Tomas Tatar everyone knew from his deadly time as a Red Wing. So when he was moved to Montreal, it was as a cap dump. Montreal would get a lot more out of Tatar than Vegas were able to though.

In 198 games as a Hab over three years, Tatar tallied 57 goals and 92 helpers for 149 points. He found a home in Montreal and he played really well. For someone that was labeled as a cap dump when he originally moved to Quebec, Tatar was reborn. He returned to his peak, having some of the best years of his career. In the 2019-20 season, Tatar recorded 22 goals and 39 assists for a career-high 61 points in 68 games.

In Carolina, Tatar would be a really nice fit on the second line. Playing on the powerplay and just having another winger who is good at both ends of the ice with the ability to score like a madman would be a welcome addition for fans. Tatar does seem to feel like a Rod Brind’Amour kind of player in terms of his work ethic and his defensive stability when the Canes would need it.

In terms of the chances Tatar ends up in Raleigh, I think everyone knows it’s slim. However, it’s fun to think about the Canes adding this one piece that could move them from a playoff team to a true cup contender. While Tatar might not be the piece, you won’t know for sure unless you give it a try. If the deal is team-friendly, why not explore that option?

Question for Cardiac Cane Readers: Would you like to see Tomas Tatar in a Canes uniform?