Tomáš Tatar facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Tomáš Tatar |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Tatar with the Seattle Kraken in 2023
|
|||
| Born | 1 December 1990 Ilava, Czechoslovakia |
||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) | ||
| Weight | 173 lb (78 kg; 12 st 5 lb) | ||
| Position | Left wing | ||
| Shoots | Left | ||
| NHL team Former teams |
New Jersey Devils HKM Zvolen Detroit Red Wings ŠHK 37 Piešťany Vegas Golden Knights Montreal Canadiens Colorado Avalanche Seattle Kraken |
||
| National team |  Slovakia |
||
| NHL Draft | 60th overall, 2009 Detroit Red Wings |
||
| Playing career | 2009–present | ||
Tomáš Tatar (born December 1, 1990) is a professional ice hockey player from Slovakia. He plays as a left winger for the New Jersey Devils in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Detroit Red Wings picked him 60th overall in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.
Tomáš Tatar's Hockey Journey
Starting in Slovakia
Tomáš Tatar began his hockey career in Slovakia. During the 2007–08 season, he played for Dukla Trenčín's younger teams. He scored an amazing 50 goals and made 39 assists in just 46 games.
In the 2008–09 season, Tatar played his first year in the top Slovak league, called the Slovak Extraliga. He played for HKM Zvolen, where he scored seven goals and had eight assists in 48 games.
Joining the NHL
Playing for the Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings chose Tatar in the 2009 NHL Draft. He was the 60th player picked overall. He also got picked by a team in Russia, SKA Saint Petersburg, in their league's draft. In September 2009, Tatar signed his first big contract with the Red Wings. After signing, he went to play for their minor league team, the Grand Rapids Griffins, in the American Hockey League (AHL).
In his first year in North America (2009–10), Tatar scored 16 goals and had 16 assists for the Griffins. The next season (2010–11), he improved, scoring 24 goals and 33 assists.
Tatar played his first NHL game on December 31, 2010. He even scored his first NHL goal in that game against the New York Islanders.
During the 2011–12 season, Tatar was the top scorer for the Griffins. He played all 76 games and scored 24 goals with 34 assists.
In the 2012–13 season, Tatar played for three different teams. Because of a lockout in the NHL, he started the season in Slovakia. He then played 18 games for the Red Wings, scoring four goals. He finished the season with the Grand Rapids Griffins. With the Griffins, he helped them win the Calder Cup, which is the championship for the AHL. Tatar was the top scorer for the Griffins in the playoffs. He scored 16 goals and had five assists in 24 games. He even won the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as the Most Valuable Player of the playoffs!
The 2013–14 season was Tatar's first full year in the NHL. He finished with 39 points, scoring 19 goals.
The Red Wings signed Tatar to a new contract in 2014. He was named the "Second Star of the Week" twice during the 2014–15 season. This means he was one of the best players in the league for those weeks. In 2017, he signed another contract extension with the Red Wings.
Playing for the Vegas Golden Knights
In February 2018, Tatar was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights. This meant he moved to a new team. During the 2018 playoffs, he played in eight games, scoring one goal and one assist.
Playing for the Montreal Canadiens
Before the 2018–19 season, Tatar was traded again. He went to the Montreal Canadiens along with another player and a draft pick.
In the 2019–20 season, Tatar had his best year for points. He scored 61 points in 68 games. He often played on Montreal's top line with Brendan Gallagher and Phillip Danault.
In 2021, when the Canadiens made it to the 2021 Stanley Cup Finals, Tatar played in only five games.
Moving to the New Jersey Devils
On August 5, 2021, Tatar signed a two-year contract with the New Jersey Devils. He played 158 regular season games with the Devils and scored 78 points. He helped the team win their first playoff series since 2012 in the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs.
Short Stays: Colorado and Seattle
On September 12, 2023, Tatar signed a one-year contract with the Colorado Avalanche. He later said he wanted a longer contract but couldn't find one. He played his first game for the Avalanche on October 11, 2023, and got an assist. He struggled to score goals with the Avalanche, getting only one goal in 26 games.
Because of this, Tatar was traded to the Seattle Kraken on December 15, 2023. He played his first game with the Kraken the next day.
Back with the Devils
On July 2, 2024, Tomáš Tatar decided to return to the New Jersey Devils. He signed a one-year contract with them.
Representing His Country
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men's ice hockey | ||
| Representing Slovakia |
||
| World Championships | ||
| Silver | 2012 Finland | |
| Representing Team Europe | ||
| Canada Cup / World Cup | ||
| Silver | 2016 Toronto | |
Tomáš Tatar has played for Slovakia many times in international tournaments.
He played in the 2009 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, where he was the top scorer for Slovakia. He scored seven goals and had four assists in seven games. He also played in the 2010 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.
In 2010, he played for the senior Slovak team at the 2010 IIHF World Championship.
Tatar was the youngest player on the Slovak team at the 2012 IIHF World Championship. Slovakia won a silver medal at this tournament, finishing second to Russia.
He also played for Slovakia at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Russia. Later that year, he played in the 2014 IIHF World Championship, where he was the team's second-highest scorer.
In 2016, Tatar played for Team Europe at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. He was the team's top goal scorer, getting three goals. Team Europe also won a silver medal.
Fun Facts
Tomáš Tatar is a big fan of the German soccer team FC Bayern Munich.
Career Stats
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2005–06 | Spartak Dubnica nad Váhom | SVK U18 | 35 | 8 | 12 | 20 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Spartak Dubnica nad Váhom | SVK.2 U18 | 48 | 33 | 44 | 77 | 42 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Spartak Dubnica nad Váhom | SVK U20 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Dukla Trenčín | SVK U18 | 4 | 9 | 4 | 13 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Dukla Trenčín | SVK U20 | 42 | 31 | 45 | 76 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | HKM Zvolen | SVK | 48 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 20 | 13 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 4 | ||
| 2008–09 | HC 07 Detva | SVK.2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Grand Rapids Griffins | AHL | 58 | 16 | 16 | 32 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Grand Rapids Griffins | AHL | 70 | 24 | 33 | 57 | 45 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | Grand Rapids Griffins | AHL | 76 | 24 | 34 | 58 | 45 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | ŠHK 37 Piešťany | SVK | 8 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Grand Rapids Griffins | AHL | 61 | 23 | 26 | 49 | 50 | 24 | 16 | 5 | 21 | 23 | ||
| 2012–13 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 18 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 73 | 19 | 20 | 39 | 30 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | ||
| 2014–15 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 82 | 29 | 27 | 56 | 28 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2 | ||
| 2015–16 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 81 | 21 | 24 | 45 | 24 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 2016–17 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 82 | 25 | 21 | 46 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 62 | 16 | 12 | 28 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Vegas Golden Knights | NHL | 20 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 10 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 2018–19 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 80 | 25 | 33 | 58 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 68 | 22 | 39 | 61 | 36 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 2020–21 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 50 | 10 | 20 | 30 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 2021–22 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 76 | 15 | 15 | 30 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2022–23 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 82 | 20 | 28 | 48 | 30 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 2023–24 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 27 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2023–24 | Seattle Kraken | NHL | 43 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 853 | 220 | 259 | 479 | 296 | 52 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 24 | ||||
International
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Slovakia | WJC | 4th | 7 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 4 | |
| 2010 | Slovakia | WJC | 8th | 6 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 6 | |
| 2010 | Slovakia | WC | 12th | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | |
| 2012 | Slovakia | WC |  |
10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2014 | Slovakia | OG | 11th | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | |
| 2014 | Slovakia | WC | 9th | 7 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 6 | |
| 2015 | Slovakia | WC | 9th | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | |
| 2016 | Team Europe | WCH | |
6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2019 | Slovakia | WC | 9th | 7 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 4 | |
| 2022 | Slovakia | WC | 8th | 8 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 2 | |
| 2024 | Slovakia | WC | 7th | 8 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 8 | |
| 2024 | Slovakia | OGQ | Q | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| Junior totals | 13 | 10 | 6 | 16 | 10 | ||||
| Senior totals | 65 | 19 | 22 | 41 | 34 | ||||
