Red Wings fans should be more than slightly concerned at this point about the future of Tomas Tatar with the organization.
According to a recent report from Elliote Friedman, Tatar is looking for $5.3 million per year in a long term deal while the Wings are only offering $4.1 million per year.
https://twitter.com/FriedgeHNIC/status/887305588732043265
You can, of course, interpret this in many different ways. Some fans will argue that $5.3 million is too much for a player like Tatar. He hasn’t produced in the playoffs in previous years and really only produced during the end of last season when the playoffs were already out of reach.
On the other hand, a player like Justin Abdelkader would be making more at $4.25 million per year if Tatar signed at the Wings current offer. I can certainly see how Tatar would be insulted as he is more productive out on the ice than Abdelkader. What he lacks, however, is the grit.
Similarly, Gustav Nyquist makes $4.75 million and at least that much should be expected from Tatar’s camp. Tatar has been a leading goal scorer for the Wings in recent years and has earned that type of money.
It would appear at this point that the two sides are far enough apart that arbitration will be unavoidable. If that happens, be prepared to start seeing the trade rumors fly around a bit more frequently.
