Tomas Tatar is trying to focus on helping the Montreal Canadiens win, and the forward said he isn't worrying about trade rumors involving him.
"I'm trying to block these things out, but obviously we wanted to be in a better spot than we are," Tatar said Thursday. "But you just have to go out and play and battle, battle for the logo."
The 29-year-old is signed through the 2020-21 season, but with the Canadiens eight points out of third place in the Atlantic Division, they appear to be looking toward the future. Montreal traded defenseman Marco Scandella to the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday for a second-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft and a conditional fourth-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft.
Tatar leads the Canadiens with 55 points (21 goals, 34 assists) in 63 games and would be a valuable addition for a contender looking for more than a rental player.
"To be honest, I don't really want [Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin] to come down and talk to me," Tatar said. "I'm trying to play my game and focus on my team, and if something happens, that's just the way the business works."
Tatar has been in this situation before, getting traded by the Detroit Red Wings to the Vegas Golden Knights prior to the 2018 trade deadline.
"I kind of gained experience from that first trade," he said. "I'm not too worried now. It's just part of the business. The first one kind of teaches you how things are. Now I'm just thinking it would be part of the business. Anything can happen, obviously. No one's really safe, I want to say, and it always depends on the offer and what the GM or the organization decides to do in a certain moment."