Because all those points he got this season came when he was playing with Hossa and Crosby? No, he was producing with Cleary and Gator before and now he isn't.
Except not. Looking at his production before and after Abby is night and day difference. And before Abby he had Filppula or Bert, two guys with, for all their flaws, actually have the talent to play in the top six.
You people don't get it. We are not a 3 line team because Tatar is on the third line. We are a ONE LINE team. Zetterberg's line. Tatar's line can be dangerous except they hardly get any minutes. Datsyuk's line is a complete nonthreat. Even other teams watching in are noticing this lunacy. You guys think Babcock has discovered some magic formula that allows the team to win. Stick Tatar on the third line instead of with the most dynamic center in the league, because then teams won't have any way to defend it! Except the facts speak for themselves. Tatar is producing, but at a suboptimal rate because of his low minutes and limited linemates. Datsyuk's production is dropping as well. And none of the other 29 teams do that crap because that's not the smart thing to do. The Hawks do not put Kane, Toews, Hossa on the third line because that doesn't work. The Ducks do not shuffle Perry or Getzlaf to the third line. The records speak for themselves. The Wings are barely 500 and the teams with success stack their scoring lines when they have the talent to do so.
But hey, you guys gotta defend things that don't make sense. I gotcha. It's the same kind of thing you see with fundamentalists of any kind whether it's political, religious, sports. Nothing can be question. Nothing must be criticized. The leaders know all and are above reproach. There are no problems. Stop complaining. Everything is perfect.
Except obviously it's not perfect and the Wings are a mediocre team. Congrats on being satisfied with mediocrity. I for one, am not. After a couple decades of superiority, I'd prefer the Wings keep up on that track. I know! It makes me such a terrible fan for tuning in every game and wanting my team to be better!