Tatar looked like he was on his way to a fourth straight 20-goal season with the Detroit Red Wings in 2017-18 when he was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights for three draft picks on Feb. 26, 2018.
The trade gave Vegas a player who had averaged more than 23 goals during his first four full seasons with the Red Wings.
Tatar looked like he was on his way to a fourth straight 20-goal season with the Detroit Red Wings in 2017-18 when he was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights for three draft picks on Feb. 26, 2018.
The trade gave Vegas a player who had averaged more than 23 goals during his first four full seasons with the Red Wings.
The Red Wings had selected Tatar in the second round (No. 60) of the 2009 NHL Draft, and he spent most of the next three seasons with Grand Rapids, their American Hockey League affiliate. In his first three seasons in the organization he appeared in nine NHL games, all in 2010-11, and scored one goal.
But he continued to work away in the minors, improving his point total in each of the first three seasons with Grand Rapids and playing a huge role in the run to the 2013 Calder Cup championship. Joining Grand Rapids only after the Red Wings had exited early from the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Tatar went on a scoring tear, with 16 goals and 21 points in 24 games as Grand Rapids defeated Syracuse in six games in the Calder Cup Final. Tatar contributed a goal in the 5-2 title-clinching victory.
Tatar made the Red Wings to stay in 2013-14 and earned a new contract by finishing with 39 points (19 goals, 20 assists) in 73 games. Seasons of 29, 21 and 25 goals followed, and he had 16 goals in 62 games before being traded to the Golden Knights.
Born in the small town of Ilava in northwestern Slovakia, Tatar has been a mainstay internationally for his country, participating in two World Junior Championships, the 2014 Winter Olympics and four World Senior Championships.
Tatar was the youngest player on Slovakia's roster at the 2012 IIHF World Championship in Finland, but he contributed five points as the surprising Slovaks claimed the silver medal.
NOTES & TRANSACTIONS
- Jack A. Butterfield Trophy (AHL - Playoff MVP) (2013)
- Signed as a free agent by Piestany (Slovakia), September 20, 2012.
- Traded to Vegas by Detroit for Vegas' 1st round pick in 2018 NHL Draft, NY Islanders' 2nd round pick (previously acquired) in 2019 NHL Draft and Vegas' 3rd round pick in 2021 NHL Draft, February 26, 2018.
