Detroit Red Wings sign Tomas Tatar to four-year deal

The Detroit Red Wings re-signed Tomas Tatar on Friday to a four-year deal which avoided arbitration. How does this shape them going forward?

The Detroit Red Wings announced on Friday that they have re-signed Tomas Tatar to a four year deal. The average cap hit is just over $five million annually.

This was something the Red Wings had to do. Tatar led the Red Wings in goals last season with 25. Tatar is a big part of the Red Wings future and someone they had to keep. Tatar should be ready for the start of the season after having shoulder surgery this offseason.

Now this contract does have a downside. Tatar was very inconsistent last season. He scored nine goals in the first 41 games, but rebounded and scored 11 goals in the final 22 games.

The Red Wings, thanks to the contracts that Justin Abdelkader and Jonathan Ericsson received, are in some cap trouble. The Red Wings are only a million dollars under the cap and still need to sign Andreas Athanasiou.

They could put either Niklas Kronwall or Ryan Sproul on LTIR, long term injured reserve. That would free up some money. A trade would also help but finding a trading partner has been difficult for the Red Wings.

The next thing that the Red Wings need to do, besides signing Athanasiou, is to make a trade. The Red Wings obviously have been looking to move either Petr Mrazek or Jimmy Howard.

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If they can move either of them before the season, that would definitely give them some relief. I have to say that Ken Holland has made two good moves so far this offseason. A lot more needs to be done though.

Most likely this will be the team the Red Wings will have going into the season. How do you feel about the Red Wings going into the season?