All signs are pointing towards a fresh face being exactly what the Seattle Kraken need to kickstart their spluttering offense and turn their season around. Tomáš Tatar is hoping that’s the case, too.
Acquired Friday afternoon from the Colorado Avalanche for a 2024 fifth-round pick, Tatar becomes a part of only the second trade the Kraken have made over the last 16 months. Splashy mid-season moves are hardly general manager Ron Francis’ forte, nevermind that the need to source external personnel to produce desired offensive results simply hasn’t been present.
Until now, that is. The team’s hand has been forced.
Inconsistency on the goal-scoring front, along with long-term injuries sustained by André Burakovsky and Jaden Schwartz, leave Seattle averaging a meager 2.18 goals per game– the sixth-worst rate of production in the league. And already the victim of two shutouts this month, offensive woes show no sign of improvement dramatic enough to put them back in the playoff race. At least not with the collective 7.79 shooting percentage (27th) the team is working with now.
Without change, Seattle’s postseason future will hinge upon the failure of divisional and conference opponents– a recipe for disappointment. Should the Kraken take charge of their offense, they can seize control of their fate. Twelve of their 33 games played have been lost by one goal, nine of which occurring post-regulation, for a grand total of 15 points lost out on due to a lack of offensive follow-through.
It’s only natural, then, Seattle seek out a seven-time twenty goal-scorer with a lucrative 12.8 career shooting percentage.
“I couldn’t be more excited to join,” Tatar said Saturday morning after arriving in Seattle around midnight. “I wanted to get here as soon as possible.”
A league veteran touting a battle-tested offensive skill set, Tatar totaled 464 points in 810 regular season games (0.57 points per game) prior to the trade, all spread across stints with the Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, Vegas Golden Knights, New Jersey Devils, and Avalanche.
Finding himself in a similarly vulnerable position to the Kraken, Tatar seeks what he calls a “restart” following a disappointing beginning to the season. Nine points in 27 games is all he managed amidst Coloradoan systems that did him more harm than good, resulting in two games spent healthy-scratched and unable to ignite chemistry with his teammates. Sentiment was for the winger that a trade loomed.
Lucky for Tatar, Seattle is unafraid of taking on players in need of rehabilitation– look at Daniel Sprong and Eeli Tolvanen. What the Kraken ultimately find appealing about this acquisition is that Tatar’s ability to generate offense fluctuates team-to-team– his production is sensitive to systems. That means they can interpret this poor season for Tatar as an outlier due to an ill-fitting team.
Colorado controlled 48.60% of the total shot attempts and 45.28% of the total shot quality with Tatar on the ice this season. For the last five, split between the Canadiens and Devils, he’s excelled at giving his team an advantage in both areas. Potential for him to return to offensive form is high, meaning Seattle could be the next to benefit from his scoring consistency, his resilient finishing, and his good health– all for only a fifth-rounder and $1.5 million against the salary cap.
It hasn’t taken Tatar long to find his footing in teal and navy. While his debut game Saturday night lacked scoring, the winger was hard on pucks, keen at sieving out passing lanes, and adept at using his smaller frame to his advantage in maintaining possession. Quickly, he’s become invaluable to the forecheck. Any time he or one of his linemates, Jared McCann and Matty Beniers, assumed possession, Tatar instinctually forged toward the net and gave Seattle a presence where they’ve desperately needed it.
“He was solid,” head coach Dave Hakstol reflected after the game. “He’s had an awful lot happening over the last 24 hours. He gave us good minutes, he’s outstanding on the bench, he makes a lot of little plays out there that might go unnoticed. That was a good start for him.”
Monday night’s outing was even better for Tatar who, joined by Beniers and this time Jordan Eberle, controlled 66.76% of the shot attempts and a whopping 88.97% of the shot quality over the Dallas Stars. Individually, Tatar generated 0.797 xG (2nd) and opened Seattle’s scoring with a point-blank rebound.
Coincidentally, Beniers broke his nine-game goal drought and his six-game point drought with a two-point night. Tatar assisted his goal and vice versa.
The Kraken went on to control 72.23% of the total shot quality in Dallas, their second-best offensive effort all season. Clearly there’s chemistry to be had between Tatar, his linemates, and Seattle’s systems– thirty minutes of ice time was all he needed to score his first goal with his new team, something he didn’t accomplish with Colorado for 276 minutes.
“Us three [Tatar, Beniers, Eberle] we’re close and supporting each other, we’re winning battles,” Tatar said following their game against Dallas. “It was a lot of fun playing with those two.”
Losing is tough. Failing to score is tough. But there’s little glory in suffering without sought solutions, and if Tatar and the Kraken can stick together, mutual benefit is in store for them both.
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