Tomas Tatar reveals exactly what happened between him and Devils

Well... it took damn near the entire offseason, but Tomas Tatar got himself a contract for the 2023-24 NHL season.

Tatar was a standout forward for the New Jersey Devils last season and looked to establish himself as one of the team's core forwards moving forward. Fans and analysts expected him to re-sign in Jersey. Tatar himself talked about wanting to re-sign in Jersey. And then... nothing.

Tatar shed some light on what happened between him and the Devils in his native Slovakia last month when he accepted the country's 'Player of the Year' award.

From Sport.SK, translated from Slovakian to English:

"A lot of people asked me two years ago why I was going to the Devils. We made a lot of progress during the season. The NHL is such a balanced competition that the details really decide in it. The potential in the team was there, I saw that it could be something special and it turned out to be the right move in the end.

“A one year offer from NJ was on the table but I refused since I wanted more term. I only realized later in free agency that it’s not possible (to get more than a 1 year deal) this year. Then, Jersey signed Toffoli and that was it.”

The situation is somewhat different now. I'm a bit older. We'll see, I'm trying to be very careful in my selection, because I want to achieve something in the NHL, winning the Stanley Cup would be wonderful. I try to think about many things when choosing a club and I hope that we will put it together as soon as possible,"

The last two days it has really moved after being stagnant for a while. I communicated directly with the coaches of the teams I could go to, what my role would be on the team. But I don't want to promise when it will be finally resolved.

The situation with the salary cap is not easy, I'm sorry that I was the one who jumped on it. But I won't complain about it. I may have to wait longer for some teams because of the changes they will have to make to make room for me. But I'm already pushing it so that it happens as soon as possible."

"It's been more teams since the beginning. There were many interested parties, which reassured me. The problem was more in the agreement. Whether it was about the length of the contract or the amount, we always fought with someone. The last few days I put some things aside and tried to look at teams where I would feel the best and it would make the most sense. Maybe that's why it moved in the right direction."

"I wanted at least two years again. Even if something didn't work the first year, it could then start to get better in the second year, just like it did with the Devils. If I had left there after the first year, I would have been disappointed, but I stayed a year longer and today I say with a smile that the Devils as an organization are definitely among the good ones.

I gained great leadership experience there and I will remember it fondly. That's why I'm trying to be very careful and today it's headed for a one-year contract because of the salary cap space."

- Tomas Tatar

Okay, there's a lot to digest there...

Again, Tatar signed in Colorado so he ended up doing just fine for himself, but you can't help but feel like maybe his heart is still in Jersey.