Avalanche give up on Tomas Tatar experiment

After recording 35 goals over two seasons with the New Jersey Devils, Tatar inked a one-year, $1.5 million contract with the Avalanche before the start of the 2023-24 campaign. He failed to make much of an impact, though, finishing his short stint with the organization having posted 10 points and only one goal, which he scored Monday against the Calgary Flames. 

There's a possibility that the short hook on Tatar means the Avalanche have something else cooking on the trade market, but we'll have to wait and see if that's the case. 

The price for Tatar's services is far from the one paid by the Vegas Golden Knights and Montreal Canadiens. The Golden Knights dealt first- second- and third-round picks to land the winger from the Detroit Red Wings in 2018 while the Habs traded legend Max Pacioretty for Tatar, forward Nick Suzuki and a second-round pick later that year. 

While Tatar hasn't had his best season on the stat sheet, he's a proven scorer, having notched 20-goal campaigns six times in his career, including in 2022-2023 with the Devils (20). A shakeup was probably necessary for the Avalanche, who could use a jolt despite leading the Central with 38 points (18-9-2). It's a win-win for the Kraken, who are two points (27) back of a wild-card playoff spot in the West (10-14-7).

If Tatar works out for Seattle, that's great. If he doesn't, they're only out a fifth-rounder and the remainder of his salary for the year.