Conference Call: Tomas Tatar

MONTREAL - Forward Tomas Tatar took some time on Tuesday to chat with reporters.

The nine-year NHL veteran discussed everything from the COVID-19 situation in his native Slovakia to his incredible chemistry with linemates Phillip Danault and Brendan Gallagher.

Here are a few excerpts from his Q&A session.

Questions from Jonathan Bernier, Journal de Montréal

Just to know, how does it work where you are in Slovakia? Is it like here in Quebec? Are the stores closed and everybody is home? How does it work on your side of the ocean?

To be honest, the rules are pretty much very similar to Canada. Most of the stores besides the pharmacy and grocery store are closed. There is social distancing between the people. Most public places or every public place is closed until, you know, no further say. You just have to figure out what will be your daily program. I'm not doing much besides trying to work out and stay home and just go through the day. So the rules are pretty similar. We don't have many cases right now here in Slovakia. I think we aren't even at 1,000 cases, but they still did some steps to stop the virus and everybody is just being cautious here.

At the beginning of the crisis, you stayed here in Montreal, but you decided to go back to Slovakia. Is there any reason for that? I guess it's to be closer to your family, probably?

Yes, that was the major decision. I was trying to stay in Montreal as long as possible. I didn't really know what the situation would be. But as I was monitoring what was happening in Europe and the other countries here, and they slowly started cancelling the flights, I wasn't really sure if I'd be able to get home. I wasn't really sure how the situation would be after, so I had to make a quick decision. Obviously, I wanted to be close to my family as well. Even if I'm here, I'm not meeting my family. My mom is at that age where, she's around 65, so I want to be careful, too. It's just nice to know that I'm close if something would happen. At this moment, you just want to be as close to family as you possibly can, so I had to make a decision, and that's why I decided to fly home.

Question from Richard Labbé, La Presse

When it does come back Tomas, how long do you think you need to get back into game shape as players?

There definitely has to be, at least for me I would say, one week with a full team practice on the ice to get back into game shape. Everybody is trying to be in shape and everybody's trying to do their best to be ready, but I don't think anybody right now can skate on the ice. Not everyone has that opportunity, maybe even no one, so that will take at least a week, for sure, if maybe not more.

Questions from Eric Engels, Rogers Sportsnet

Before we went to break, you were injured, so just curious, can you share with us what the nature of the injury was and how it's coming along in the healing process?

It's healed up. I would be ready to play. Actually, I was about to be cleared to play before the stoppage happened, so it wasn't anything major. It was actually one of my first injuries through the season. It wasn't easy for me to watch guys play. Me, as a teammate, I wanted to be on the ice with them and I truly missed it. But as of right now, I'm cleared to play and even if the season would start tomorrow, I would be good to go.

When you look at your experience from Detroit, to the struggles in Vegas, to Montreal, where you've now put up two career years, do you have a new perspective on how important fit is for you, in terms of your success?

Yeah. To be honest, as I was looking at the different players and different teams, I started to realize it more and more how important it is to fit to the team and to the system. You're probably right, I'm having probably the best time in my life right now in Montreal since I got there. I really enjoy our locker room, our team and our fans, and it's something I'm really excited for to get back, so I'm really enjoying it. The fit that I play with Phil and Gally, it fit perfectly for me and I'm really enjoying playing with those guys. So far, it's been really, really good for me.

Question from Arpon Basu, The Athletic

Just to pick up on that, could you describe what the dynamic is like between you and Phil and Brendan in terms of chemistry or how your personalities, like how would you describe each of your relationships with each other?

You know, we've become really good friends off the ice. I think we are, you know, just since day one when I got here, we were talking, what each role is on the ice and how we can help each other to be better. And we are all three listening to each other, you know, if somebody has something to say, and trying to help each other on the ice. Phil is a great two-way center, playing on both sides of the ice, and Brendan is a great player around the net and a good goal scorer. So everyone has a certain role on the line and I think we're all trying to play in all three zones on the ice, so I think we're helping each other a lot everywhere on the ice, which helps everybody on the line. I think we are together. The main thing is, we have a lot of fun, which is good. Hockey for us right now is fun, and that should be the priority.

Question from Greg Wyshynski, ESPN

I was wondering if you could talk about your adventures on TikTok, and if you've watched Brendan Gallagher and what your thoughts on his TikTok are?

Yeah, to be honest, I think it's important to stay in touch with fans. Obviously, we are all in this together. You know, once we were out of the rinks and out of touch with the media, I didn't think the fans had a chance to get to know the players a little better, or see what the players are doing. So, I'm just trying to have fun and kind of be in touch without fans. I saw some of Brendan's TikToks and I thought they were hilarious. I think he's doing a great job, too. And it's the same for me, if I see something funny, I'll try to post it for our fans just to see what I'm doing in my spare time right now.

Question from Marc Antoine Godin, The Athletic

You referred to Phil and Brendan earlier, but as a group itself, I know that you guys have a group chat to stay in touch with each other, but right now, how different is this in terms of communication between teammates compared to the usual offseason? Is there something that's changed in the communication and the dynamic between you guys?

I would say no. We are still in touch. Like you said, we have a group chat where we're talking together and we're in touch, or I'm in touch with a lot of other teammates just to see how everyone's doing and if everyone's feeling good and safe. So, I think it's just showing how strong our locker room is and how tight it is, and I think we're in touch on a daily basis.