Red Wings Reportedly Trade Tatar For Haul Of Draft Picks
By: Will Burchfield
@burchie_kid
Although it wasn't the one that many expected, the Red Wings pulled off a trade before Monday's 3 p.m. deadline.
And they reeled in quite the return.
Detroit reportedly dealt Tomas Tatar to the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for a 2018 first-round pick, a 2019 second-round pick and a 2021 third-round pick. The picks do not carry any conditions, according to Craig Custance.
The Red Wings now have a combined 10 picks in the first three rounds of the 2018 and 2019 NHL Draft.
Tatar to Vegas for a 1st this year, 2nd next year and a 3rd in 2021.
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) February 26, 2018
In 62 games this season Tatar has 16 goals and 28 points. He carries a $5.3 million cap hit through the 2020-21 season.
Per The Athletic, the Red Wings will not retain any of Tatar's salary.
In a surprise move, it appears the Wings have not traded Mike Green. The veteran defenseman is a pending unrestricted free agent, but he missed the final six games before the deadline, which may have suppressed his value. Green also had a no-trade clause, although he was reportedly willing to waive it for the Lightning and the Capitals.
After the Wings traded Petr Mrazek to the Flyers last week for two conditional draft picks, Ken Holland made it clear he was intent on stockpiling as many future assets as possible.
"I want us to be a team that can compete for the Stanley Cup," Holland said. "I want us to be a better team. We're competitive. We're not quite where we need to be. In order to be where we want to be, I've got to acquire draft picks, and we need to hit on those draft picks.
"The more draft picks that I can acquire or young players through trades is a better chance that we're going to wake up three, four, five years from now, two years from now, and start to see the young players coming onto the team and having an impact on the team."