New League, Same Tatar

Tomas Tatar's career has seen a number of ups and downs throughout his 34 years on the planet. Drafted by the Red Wings with the 60th-overall pick in 2009, Tatar left Zvolen HKm in Slovakia to join the AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins where he immediately showed that he could be an offensive force in 2009-10. He'd crack the Red Wings roster for good in 2013-14, posting the first of four-straight seasons with 19 goals or more. He'd hit the 20-goal mark twice with Montreal and once more with New Jersey, but his ability to remain healthy always seemed to cost him productivity on the scoresheet. After scoring just 41 points with Colorado, Seattle, and New Jersey over two seasons, Tatar accepted a contract with EV Zug in Switzerland's National League A this season where he could potentially rediscover that scoring touch from earlier NHL years.

Things seemed to start pretty well for Tatar as he recorded a goal and an assist in his first three Swiss league games, so it seems he's still got the scoring touch. I don't think anyone doubted that Tatar couldn't score - he is the 2013 Jack A. Butterfield Trophy winner as the AHL's Calder Cup MVP - so Zug's investment seems like a good one. If Tatar can continue to score at his current pace, Zug fans should have a new favorite whenever he comes over the boards.

The purpose of this article, though, isn't to remind you that Tomas Tatar can score. Instead, it's a reminder that even good players do dumb things. Case in point was May 7, 2023. Here's the video.
Tatar was fined $5000, the maximum allowable under the CBA, for that high-sticking incident against Carolina's Sebastian Aho, and he should be counting his lucky stars that he wasn't suspended for that dangerous stick swing. Aho, thankfully, wasn't hurt on the play, but Tatar's reaction could have cost him and the Devils much more.

Why is this reference important? Well, Tatar's reaction in a game on Friday against the SCL Tigers had all the same signs of frustration that Tatar showed against the Hurricanes. According to that linked report, the National League suspended Tatar one game and fined him 2500 Swiss Francs (just less than $3200 USD) for crosschecking Hannes Bjorninen in the head and neck area while Bjorninen was "down on the ice and in a defenseless position". This came after Bjorninen won a faceoff against Tatar at the 1:33 mark of overtime.

Tatar was assessed a five-minute major for the crosscheck along with a game misconduct, and that would allow the SCL Tigers to capitalize as Harri Pesonen scored on the power-play at the 3:44 mark to give the Tigers a 4-3 victory. The National League officials would review the crosscheck, and they determined that "the action is reckless and unnecessary" and "[c]ontact as such has to be avoided and cannot be tolerated." As such, Tatar was suspended and fined for his actions.

In short, EV Zug lost the game in overtime on a power-play goal for whose penalty was assessed to Tatar for an unnecessary penalty, Tatar ends up lighter in the pocketbook, and he also gets to sit and watch his team play on Monday from the stands. I'm not sure that the extra physicality on Bjorninen was worth it in the bigger picture.

Take nothing away from Tatar as he's going to be a good player for Zug this season. He's always been a fairly clean player as he's never had more than 34 penalty minutes in any NHL season, and these first 25 minutes in his National League debut are the only penalty minutes he's recorded this season. I'm betting he'll be among the top scorers for Zug this season, but this is a reminder that even good players do dumb things that cost their teams points in the standings.

I suspect that Tatar will play a fairly clean game moving forward.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!