Red Wings' Holland looks to future with trade of Tatar

DETROIT -- The Red Wings traded someone who was expected to stay because of his contract and did not trade someone who was expected to leave because of his contract.
On Monday just before before the 3 p.m. trade deadline, the Wings sent forward Tomas Tatar to the Vegas Golden Knights for a first-round pick this year, a second-round pick in 2019 (from the New York Islanders) and a third-round pick in 2021.

"Really made the deal because we're looking towards the future," Wings executive vice president and general manager Ken Holland said on an evening conference call. "Obviously, we missed the playoffs last year, we're five points out this year, we have a real tough road to hoe here. I like that our team's won a couple of games and hopefully we can really dig in on the road and find a way to play our way back into the playoff race.
"But with the trade deadline today, I had to make a decision and as I look towards '18-19, I thought that we have a lot of wingers on our board competing for spots next year - Tatar, (Gustav) Nyquist, (Andreas) Athanasiou, (Anthony) Mantha, (Justin) Abdelkader, (Luke) Glendening, (Darren) Helm. I think (Michael) Rasmussen if he makes our team, much like Dylan Larkin, he's a center iceman, but he might have to start out on the wing, (Evgeny) Svechnikov.
"Certainly, we have a lot of wingers and this was an opportunity to acquire some picks to build our team for the future and certainly our goal is to build a team that can contend for the Stanley Cup and it's going to have to happen through the draft, so this gets us some additional draft picks moving forward."
Although there was definitely interest, some thought that Tatar's contract, a four-year deal that started this season with an average annual value of $5.3 million, might scare some off.
In this particular case, it might have helped because Tatar is not a rental, he will be under team control and the Golden Knights had a preponderance of draft picks because of what they accomplished in the expansion draft.
On the other hand, everyone expected that the Wings would trade defenseman Mike Green because his contract expires at the end of this season when he will become an unrestricted free agent.
But Green has missed the last six games because of a neck injury, which appears to have been more scary for prospective suitors than Tatar's contract.
"One team out there requested his medical reports and I talked to our team doctor and another team was very interested over the last four or five days but Mike hasn't been able to play, the injury he's got is something that could resurface again here," Holland said. "He's getting better, there's a chance he could be in our lineup this weekend. Hopefully he continues to practice and doesn't have any flare-ups but ultimately it's hard for a team to add a player they weren't 100 percent sure that, one, was going to come back, and if he did come back that maybe the injury would flare up again. That had everything to do with Mike Green remaining a Red Wing."
Holland said Green did not invoke his no-trade clause to prevent a deal.
"I talked to Mike, he was open to being traded," Holland said. "He would have loved to have the opportunity to go to a team that had a real chance to win the Stanley Cup, had that conversation 10 days ago. Two teams wanted to know specifically what was going on with his injury and that had a real bearing on their decision. The other thing, (Ryan) McDonagh was on the market and I'm sure a lot of teams interested in defensemen were talking to the Rangers. Lot of rumors about high-profile defensemen. I think between the defensemen possibly available and the uncertainly of the injury all impacted it."
Green, 32, was a first-round pick, 29th overall, of the Washington Capitals in the 2004 draft.
In 56 games this season, Green has six goals, 23 assists and is minus-8.
In his best seasons for the Capitals, Green had 31 goals and 42 assists in 68 games in 2008-09 and 19 goals and 57 assists in 75 games in 2009-10.
Green signed a three-year, $18 million contract with the Wings on July 1, 2015.
The Wings originally drafted Tatar, 27, in the second round, 60th overall, in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. T
atar led the Wings in goals last season with 25 and has 16 goals and 12 assists in 62 games this season.
Tatar's most productive offensive season came in 2014-15, when he scored 29 goals, nine on the power play, and 27 assists in 82 games.
"It's hard to let people go that you've watched from the draft table at the age of 18," Holland said. "You watch them play junior or college or Europe, or whatever. They turn pro and they got the American League. And Tomas Tatar is the playoff MVP, scores 16 goals in 20 games and Grand Rapids wins the Calder Cup. Then he comes up to the National Hockey League and he scores 19 goals, and 29 goals, and 25 goals and plays hard every day. He's durable. He's in the lineup every night. And then you've got to trade those people, because we're not where we need to be."
The additional first-round pick gives the Wings as many as 11 for the draft this summer, including two in the first (Vegas), two in the second (Ottawa's from the New York Rangers for Brendan Smith), two in the third (Pittsburgh's for Riley Sheahan), two in the sixth (Montreal's for Steve Ott); one in the fourth and seventh and a conditional fourth-round pick (Philadelphia's for Petr Mrazek).
Philadelphia's fourth-rounder could turn into a third-round pick if Mrazek wins three more games and the Flyers make the playoffs.
Detroit also has amassed a possible 10 picks in the 2019 draft: two in the second and fifth rounds; one in the first, third, fourth, sixth and seventh; and a conditional third-round pick from Philadelphia.
"The deal mostly was about creating opportunity, dealing from a position where we had an excess of wingers, and looking towards the future to try to build something here that can compete one day down the road as a legitimate Stanley Cup contender," Holland said. "It's gotta start at the draft table."
Tatar joins a team leading the Western Conference with 86 points (41-16-4) in 61 games.
The Golden Knights ' 24 home wins are the most in the league.
"Obviously, Vegas is one of the top teams," Holland said. "There's a lot of excitement in the city. They're having a great year, first in the West, and they're looking to go on a long playoff run. It looks like they're going to have a good team next year and the year after. We feel good about the deal and what a great opportunity for Tomas Tatar."
The Tatar deal came down to the wire and there were no other offers on other players, so Holland was happy to get this trade done.
"In this case, certainly we got a deal that I feel good about and our staff feels good about," Holland said. "I think Vegas should be very happy, too.
"We're building for the future, Tats is going to go help them win now."
AHL PLAYOFFS-ELIGIBLE: Although they aren't going anywhere, forward Tyler Bertuzzi and goaltender Jared Coreau were assigned to the AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins today.
That allows them to be eligible for the Calder Cup playoffs.