Team Slovakia won bronze at the 2022 Olympics when NHL players didn’t take part, and they’ll be looking to build on that strong showing in Milano. While competition will be better this time around, so will the Slovak roster, which will include seven NHL players: St. Louis Blues’ Dalibor Dvorsky, Calgary Flames’ Martin Pospisil, San Jose Sharks’ Pavol Regenda, Tampa Bay Lightning’s Erik Cernak, Washington Capitals’ Martin Fehervary, New Jersey Devils’ Simon Nemec, and Montreal Canadiens’ Juraj Slafkovsky.
However, at the opening ceremony, it wasn’t one of those NHL players who acted as flag bearer for the country, but another hockey player, one who played 14 NHL seasons, including three with the Canadiens: Tomas Tatar.
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Drafted in the second round of the 2009 draft by the Detroit Red Wings, Tatar played for parts of seven seasons in Michigan before being traded to the Vegas Golden Knights at the trade deadline in 2017-18. Unfortunately for him, he couldn’t develop any chemistry with his new teammates. By the time the Nevada side reached the Stanley Cup Final, he had played only eight postseason games and was a healthy scratch by the Conference Final.
With three years left on his contract, he had already overstayed his welcome in Vegas. When the team set its sights on Canadiens captain Max Pacioretty, Tatar was part of the offer made to the Habs alongside Nick Suzuki and a 2019 second-round pick. While Tatar was seen as a throw-in in the trade, he would turn out to be an excellent acquisition for the Canadiens. He would eventually become a first-line player for Montreal, skating with Phillip Danault and Brendan Gallagher.
In a game against his former team in November 2018, Tatar scored the game-winning goal for the Habs and became a popular meme amongst Habs fans when an overenthusiastic fan screamed his name on camera.
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He recorded 58, 61, and 30 points (in 50 games in a shortened season) with the Canadiens, but fizzled out in the Canadiens Cup final run, only skating in five postseason games. With his contract expiring at the end of that season, he was allowed to walk as an unrestricted free agent. He went on to play for the New Jersey Devils (twice), the Colorado Avalanche, and the Seattle Kraken before calling time on his NHL career at the end of the 2024-25 season.
This year, he has been plying his trade in the Swiss A league and has put up 30 points in 36 games with Zug EV. At 35, these are his second Olympics and, more than likely, his last, and with the career he had in the NHL (496 points in 927 games), it’s not surprising that Slovakia chose to honour him by making him the flag bearer.
Tomas Tatar with the Slovakian flag. Credit: Tomas Tatar Instagram
Follow Karine on X @KarineHains Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social and Threads @karinehains.
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