3 Free Agent Destinations for Kraken's Tomas Tatar

The Seattle Kraken were in the playoff race for a good while this season, but they just couldn't repeat the magic of 2022-23. The team hasn't wavered from the plan to build a strong young core to be competitive for many years, but in the midst of pushing for a playoff spot, they brought in Tomas Tatar to help add some scoring. He didn't make a huge difference, but it wasn't on him alone to turn the lack of offense around. He will likely not be back next season as he now finds himself out of the lineup as a healthy scratch in favor of younger players. Let's look at a few teams that would be able to use his services next season and sign him in free agency.

Tampa Bay Lightning

The Tampa Bay Lightning are always churning out talent from the AHL to fill their lineup. That has been a little harder to come by this season up front, and with so many key players locked into lucrative long-term deals, there isn't exactly a ton of money to go around. This season Tatar has been able to produce offensively a fair amount and could come into Tampa Bay on another one-year deal at a cheap price and add some offense. I expect he would add more than this season considering the Lightning are much better offensively than the Kraken. Tatar has a cap hit of $1.5 million AAV this season and I don't think he's earned much more for next season. Tampa Bay could be his shot to get a larger payday for the season after and have a chance at winning the Stanley Cup.

Minnesota Wild

The Minnesota Wild are going to have a lot of cap space and opportunity next season. General manager Bill Guerin is going to have a fun time crafting a team with what he has to work with, and that could include bringing in free agents to fill the bottom-six like Tatar. The Wild haven't got the most offense from most of his forward group this season and Tatar scored 20 goals and recorded 48 points just last season in a role he could play for the Wild. Having more cap space to work with, the team could land him if they wanted to by offering a little bit more.

Boston Bruins

The Boston Bruins had to makeshift a good portion of their lineup this season after multiple key offseason subtractions. The team brought in a number of players with something to prove on cheap deals and once again qualified for the playoffs and got the most out of those players. While not all of them will be back next season and there will be space to make additions, I expect Tatar to at least be on the radar of the Bruins for their bottom-six. He is looking to prove himself after this season and Boston might need the help he could provide if he bounces back.