What to do with a problem named Tomas Tatar?
That’s the dilemma the Detroit Red Wings are facing, and to be honest, a big part of the problem is of their own creation.
Left-winger Tatar, 26, Detroit’s leading goal scorer last season with 25, is seeking a big-ticket contract, desiring a 6-7 year deal worth $6 million a season. The Wings countered by offering him a five-year pact at $5 million per season.
If the two sides can’t find a compromise, they are likely headed for an arbitration hearing on Thursday in Toronto.
On the surface, the Wings can make a strong case that their offer to Tatar is in the ballpark of what he should expect. Recently, Tampa Bay Lightning forward Tyler Johnson, whose production numbers are similar to what Tatar has posted, agreed to terms on a seven-year deal with $5 million per season. While Tatar has outscored Johnson 75-69 over the past three season, Johnson has out-produced Tatar 20-3 in the playoff goal column over the same span.
The flaw in this approach from the Red Wings point of view are the number of bad long-term contracts general manager Ken Holland has already agreed to with players on the team who aren’t nearly as productive offensively as Tatar. In recent seasons, he signed Justin Abdelkader to a seven-year, $30 million deal, and Darren Helm to a five-year pact worth $3.85 million a season. Helm has never scored 20 goals in a campaign, while Abdelkader did it once, netting 23 tallies in 2014-15.
Tatar has reached the 20-goal plateau three seasons in succession, leading the Wings in goals in two of the past three seasons. Only 30 NHL players have scored more goals than him since the start of the 2014-15 season.
On the other hand, 78 players have collected more points than Tatar in the same time frame, and last season, he scored the majority of his goals - 13 in the last 25 games - long after the Wings were legitimately still in the playoff race.
The problem facing the Wings is that this goal-starved team needs Tatar, and if they force his hand to arbitration, he’ll get a one-year deal and will be eligible for unrestricted free agency, leaving the team in the precarious position of needing to trade their top goal scorer, or risk losing him for nothing.
Tatar told Sport.sk in his native Slovakia that he’d prefer to stay in Detroit on a long-term deal, but also that business is business and he has to take care of himself.
Certainly, Tatar is the one in the driver’s seat here. He’s going to get paid, either this year or next year. He has the Wings over a barrel and why shouldn’t he employ that sort of leverage to his advantage?
It figures to be an interesting week for both Tatar and the Wings, and how it ends could hasten Tatar’s end as a Wing.
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