The Detroit Free Press asked sportswriter Adam Candee to ask Vegas Golden Knights forward Tomas Tatar about his trade from the Detroit Red Wings and what Tatar thinks about his team’s playoff run:
“The start was pretty hard,” Tatar said. “You don’t know much about Vegas from outside of Vegas. I didn’t really know where to go or what to do. It was my first trade, so it was a little stressful.”
The real culture shock for the former Red Wings forward was fitting into the locker room and lineup of a tight-knit Golden Knights team riding a fairy-dust train to the best expansion season in NHL history.
“A lot of guys are playing with a lot of confidence, that’s for sure,” Tatar said of the difference between Detroit and Vegas. “We have a really fast team here. I was really surprised — everybody’s a great skater. It’s just a good group of guys in the locker room as well. This team has everything that it takes to win and we are one step away from it.”
The Wings, meanwhile, have missed the playoffs each of the past two seasons and have not advanced beyond the first round since 2013. Those struggles led Detroit to deal Tatar and his $5.3 million salary to Vegas for three draft picks at the NHL trade deadline.
Tatar could not pinpoint how his old team might borrow from the Vegas formula, but noted the Golden Knights’ chemistry.
“Every team, every locker room is a little different. Every team needs something different (to) have that winning recipe,” Tatar said. “The only thing that I can say here is that everybody is just having fun and everybody is enjoying it, which I think is great. Nobody’s really worried about stuff outside.”
Candee continues, and he posted a video of Tatar’s remarks:
Some cryptic comments from Tatar. When pressured he offered up how everyone on Vegas has fun. So you have to wonder how life was in Detroit? Was that Blashill, Zetterberg or other vet leaders? Whatever the reason…sounds like the lockeroom in Detroit wasn’t that fun!
So, once again, you draw conclusions from what is NOT specifically stated!
Sad! 🙁
I don’t see that his comments were conclusions. FS was just speculating and Tatar’s comments would certainly lead one to think that all was not well in the Wing’s locker room.
I have speculated for most of the past 3-4 years that it is a divided room. The cryptic comments seem to lend credence to that possibility.
Riley Sheahan also commented on how arriving in Pittsburgh became fun again. And specifically noted that there were no cliques in the room.
But seems like some people are pretty sensitive about this…
Like someone is sensitive about a differing opinion cant have it now can We? Lol
The only hard part of this, for me, is that Nosek and Tats had to go to a first year expansion team to win a conference title. I wish the best to them, just tough to see how far away we really are right now. Amazing story
I thought we just needed to be 2% better? Haha. Can’t believe this was said less than a year ago. Try 50%.
I definitely think it’s a different dynamic.
Yes, other locker rooms are probably better because they are winning. Vegas has a unique position – castaways that could band together for a better purpose fighting for respect – a chip on their shoulder. Contrast that with Ryan O’Rielly’s comments about Buffalo.
Wings are coming off of a 25 year playoff run with 4 Cups. The downfall of the Wings could have been avoided (mostly) but here we are with 20/20 vision.
Winning is fun and losing is not.
Or we can make mountains out of molehills and just project our worst thoughts day after day.