The Vegas Golden Knights will give Tomas Tatar a big opportunity due to the departures of James Neal and David Perron.
There’s good news and bad news if you’re a Vegas Golden Knights fan. The good news is the Golden Knights have added one of the best number two centers in the game in Paul Stastny. The team also signed Nick Holden to shore up their defense.
However, the bad news is Vegas lost both James Neal and David Perron via free agency. Both were critical pieces to the Golden Knights offense last season. What does this mean for head coach Gerard Gallant and the Golden Knights?
With Stastny entering the fray, Gallant will likely slide Erik Haula to his natural postion at left wing and give Alex Tuch the fulltime right wing role. I expect this will be the Golden Knights second line to enter the season. Although, Tomas Tatar will have something to say about that.
Vegas picked up Tatar at the trade deadline from the Detroit Red Wings for three draft picks. Golden Knights general manager George McPhee brought in Tatar for a reason. If Neal and Perron left, Tatar would easily slide into a top-six role because he already carries three more years on his current contract. And since both are gone, the 27-year old should finally get his chance at some point during 2018-19.
The Ilava, Czechoslovakia native registered 20 goals, 14 assists and 34 points in 82 games played. He struggled in a Golden Knights uniform, however. In 20 games with Vegas, he notched just four goals, two assists, and six points.
We have to give Tatar the benefit of the doubt. He did not have a training camp with the Golden Knights. It’s sometimes hard to adjust to a new team after being with the same organization for six years.
In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Tatar started to find a groove towards the end of the Golden Knights run. Tatar scored the all-important goal in game two against the Winnipeg Jets that flipped the Western Conference in favor of Vegas. But just as he started to find his role, the Washington Capitals defeated the Golden Knights in five games in the Cup Final.
Whether Tatar starts on the second or third line will depend on how he plays in camp and the preseason. But the veteran forward has already begun training for the new season coming up in just three months. Tatar appears motivated and ready to prove his doubters wrong, and that’s music to all Golden Knights fans ears.
Next: Vegas Golden Knights: James Neal Reportedly Signs With Calgary Flames
All in all, the Vegas Golden Knights will give Tomas Tatar every opportunity to succeed. Gallant will provide him with the ice time that he deserves. It also goes both ways, if he regresses even more in 2018-19, he might find himself in the press box like he was for most of the postseason.