What a difference a day made in Tomas Tatar’s future as a Detroit Red Wing.
Just 24 hours away from an arbitration ruling that would have led to a one-year contract for Tatar and a likely destination for the trading block, he and the Wings reached agreement on a four-year pact worth $5.3 million per season.
“It’s real exciting that we found a way to get the deal done,… a happy Tatar said.
Even he had some doubts that the two sides would find common ground and hammer out any sort of long-term deal that would keep the 26-year-old left winger, a 20-goal scorer in each of the past three seasons, in a Red Wings uniform long term.
“Obviously, it was a little stressful and I was not real happy that it went all the way there,… Tatar said of Thursday’s arbitration hearing in Toronto.
“Obviously, I really wanted to stay. Detroit, I love it here. I have so many friends here who are awesome and a great relationship with the guys in the locker room. It would be really, really hard to have a one-year deal and kind of not knowing what’s gonna come in the your future. I’m extremely happy we found a way to sign a deal.…
Without that pact, you had to figure Tatar would have proven to be an A-list chip in play at next season’s NHL trade deadline, knowing he would have been mere months away from unrestricted free agency.
“If I wouldn’t be signed as we go towards the trade deadline it’s just a hard spot to be,… Tatar admitted. “I don’t know if the (contract) conversation would open again during the season or . . . I don’t know. It’s hard to say what was possible.…
The new deal was a happy ending to a bizarre week in which Tatar found himself sitting in the same room with his employers as they told an independent arbitrator why Tatar wasn’t worth the $5.3 million deal he was seeking, and why he should only get the $4.1 the team was offering.
Tatar tried not to take anything personally.
“You know it’s a business,… Tatar said. “When you are out there with the best players in the world, almost every day they are trying to find a way where you are not playing your best.
“You have to just listen in one ear and out the other. It’s a process, it’s a business and I can understand when you are in an arbitration room like that. I try not to think about it too much.…
“We had a great relationship with (Detroit GM) Ken (Holland) and the arbitration was not even close to being as bad as people were picturing it to be. They were really nice.…
In the end, the Wings gave Tatar the money he was seeking, and they did so for the next four years, so in that sense, he’s the winner.
“I think we were always trying to find a way to sign a deal without waiting for the arbitrator and I’m really happy that we did,… Tatar said.
Follow me on Twitter @asktheduffer