Vegas has acquired 27-year-old winger Tomas Tatar from the Detroit Red Wings for three draft picks, a 2018 1st, a 2019 2nd, and a 2021 3rd round pick.
Tatar is a speedy goal scorer who has scored 16 goals and tallied 12 assists for the Red Wings this season. Tatar scored 25 last year and 21, 29, and 19 the three years prior.
He is under contract for the next three seasons at a cap hit of $5,300,000 per year.
The Golden Knights had 17 picks in the first 3 rounds of the next four drafts, the Tatar trade reduces it to 14. That's still plenty.
2018 – 2nd
2019 – 1st, 2nd, 2nd, 3rd, 3rd, 3rd
2020 – 1st, 2nd, 2nd, 2nd, 3rd
2021 – 1st, 2nd— SinBin.vegas (@SinBinVegas) February 26, 2018
For those asking my opinion on the deal here it is. #VegasBorn pic.twitter.com/2ZjqymokNT
— SinBin.vegas (@SinBinVegas) February 26, 2018
Jim Reczek
Nice player, but I hate parting with draft picks in any deal – let alone three.
Draft picks are where your cost certainty lies. Those ELC’s are what allow you to make splashes in the free agent market and re-sign your own guys when their control is up.
Loading up on good, but not great, veteran players is how you get into cap trouble. Our cap situation was pristine and envied by almost the entire league. I suppose you’re not really an NHL team though if you don’t create cap problems for yourself.
Anything short of a cup win makes this trade a loss.
Phill
We still have close to 30 million in cap space
john
i dont agree with that at all. he is a 3 time 20 goal scorer vs a 1st – 3rd round picks who wont even see the ice for 4 years. not only that but we have Tatar through his prime years for the next several years.
Clayton Dreyer
I was a Wings dan before the Knights came to Vegas. Although my family is from Michigan, I was born in Vegas and have lived here my entire life. In my opinion, the Knights probably overpaid, but that 1st round is (hopefully) going to be very late. I’m not sure on this. I don’t doubt Tatar’s scoring ability, I guess we’ll have to see how he performs here. We can’t determine who wins this trade until then.
RJ
Tatar fits in extremely well here and is on a team friendly contract through his prime years. This isn’t a rental, so comparing this to say, the Evander Kane trade, is not congruent. This is a spectacular trade that no one saw coming. As I’ve come to expect from George McPhee, whatever I think he is going to do, he gets something even better done.
The picks are a high price, but it is the correct price for a good player with a good contract. Ken Holland and George McPhee should be able to each go to their owners and fans and honestly say they made a good deal. Win-win trade, especially if Tatar hoists the Cup wearing Gold and Grey.
#CupIn1