Avalanche sign Tomas Tatar to 1-year contract

The Colorado Avalanche signed forward Tomas Tatar to a one-year contract, the team announced Tuesday. The deal is worth $1.5 million, according to The Athletic's Peter Baugh.

Tatar spent the 2022-23 season with the New Jersey Devils, scoring 20 goals and adding 28 assists in 82 games.

The 32-year-old was originally drafted by the Detroit Red Wings in the second round in 2009 and spent the first six-plus seasons of his career with the franchise before a midseason trade to the Vegas Golden Knights in 2017-18. He then spent three years with the Montreal Canadiens before his move to New Jersey in 2021-22.

Tatar has 211 goals and 244 assists in 783 career regular-season games. He has reached the 20-goal mark in seven of his 12 campaigns.

"Tomas has been a consistent, productive player throughout his NHL career," Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland said via NHL.com. "He is a veteran winger who brings scoring depth to our middle six and can contribute at both ends of the ice. We are excited to have him under contract for this season."

The Avalanche are coming off a season in which they finished atop the Central Division with 109 points. They were surprisingly ousted in the first round of the playoffs by the upstart Seattle Kraken.