The Pittsburgh Penguins pulled off perhaps the best move of the NHL offseason Sunday when they traded for three-time Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson. That doesn’t appear to be the last move the Penguins intend to make as Elliotte Friedman reports that Pittsburgh is interested in adding veteran forward Tomas Tatar.
Tatar, 32, is an unrestricted free agent after spending the last two seasons with the New Jersey Devils. He played in all 82 regular season games for the Devils last season, scoring 20 goals with 28 assists for 48 points. He added a goal in the playoffs for New Jersey, playing in all 12 postseason contests.
Tatar has played parts of 12 seasons in the NHL, tallying 211 goals and 455 points in 783 career games. He's also played in 52 playoff games, scoring 13 points.
The Penguins missed the playoffs for the first time since 2006 last season and have not won a playoff series in five years. With a roster that boasts some aging stars, the Penguins are going all in on the next couple of seasons and are gearing up to be a Stanley Cup contender rather than turning into a rebuilder.
All the moves will be for naught if the players themselves don’t perform well. Though hockey players have some of the best durability of any athlete, they also seem to have the biggest drop-off once they can no longer perform to the best of their abilities.
The Penguins have several stars who are over the age of 35 and are expected to still play at a high level. That doesn’t include the 33-year-old Karlsson or Tatar. Regardless, the Penguins may be looked at as the winners of the offseason if they do sign Tomas Tatar.