The Detroit Red Wings and Tomas Tatar are more than a million apart in their respective arbitration briefs.
The sides today received copies of one another’s briefs, two days before a scheduled arbitration hearing in Toronto. The Wings are offering $4.1 million. Tatar’s side is asking for $5.3 million. It’s not uncommon for there to be a chasm, as each side is attempting to sway a favorable judgement.
An arbitrator is likely to land somewhere in the middle. Tatar is coming off a 25-goal season, and three straight 20-goal seasons. Only 30 NHL players have scored more goals in the past three seasons than Tatar’s 75 goals.