Should the Buffalo Sabres extend Alex Tuch?

Should the Buffalo Sabres extend Alex Tuch?

you did mention Alex Tuck in that conversation and I think that was something that definitely picked up a lot of steam over the past few days Um I think it was James Myrtle of The Athletic was just writing about was he writing about just potential extensions Maybe maybe not Or maybe I think it was just like a recap of what had gone down at the combine Anyways Alex Tuck was a note um in that article how teams were gonna continue to call and uh the Sabres were going to start extension talks but or maybe they hadn’t even started Anyways everybody sees Alex Tuck is next He’s got one-year deal left on his contract $4.75 million per season Um but on July 1st he’s eligible for an extension And it kind of makes you wonder like hey what’s the plan here There’s no secret He’s 29 years old He’s uh he’s teetering on that cliff And I think we added some fuel to the fire because according to Evolving Hockey his next deal is most likely to be now these are based off of their contract projections which are the best around They they nail these on a continuous continual basis Um but they usually they get these spot on for the most part and Alex Tux Alex Tu’s most likely extension number would be eight years at 9.17 million per season So we asked the question and you know we talked amongst ourselves as well but JP eight years 9.17 million per season would you do that for Alex talk I think I voted no I I believe you did I believe you’d voted no That it’s not the dollar amount that scares me I think he’s more than proven himself It’s just it’s it’s the term like that would take him to his age 37 season Like I don’t know Like I I don’t know if we’re exactly in the spot to be handing out a veteran who’s soon to be a 30-year-old an eight-year deal Because like in the back of my mind in the very back of the mind even though I don’t want to think about this if this season were to go to again okay and we have to go through another rebuild we’re not going to want an aging vet just sitting on our books Like I just I don’t think we’re in a spot to give him an eight-year deal Like I would ideally I would probably max out at five years Like I would give him five by9 Like I do that all day But I get from his his his spot he’s definitely going to want an 8-year deal And I don’t blame him I mean there’s no reason he shouldn’t get paid and he shouldn’t get the term but I don’t I don’t know if we’re exactly in the spot to do that Well I think he made a good clarification that for you it’s it’s the term But when I look at the money it it’s it’s not so high where I’m like ew absolutely not We’re not doing that deal No chance But it’s also not like okay wow that’s a good deal That’s a steal Let’s do it It’s not either of those So it kind of tells me that it’s probably the right amount of money or like right around like he’s not getting lower than eight It’s not happening No absolutely not That non-arizoning cap world um he’s getting paid especially considering the last seven years of his career he’s been on or on the last eight years of his career he’s been on a sweetheart deal you know which side note it’s really frustrating At most it’s really frustrating that at most you’re getting one season of getting value out of that like good value out of that contract like $4.75 million for Alex Tuck and it really never he never really got to utilize it No And that’s why he’s going to want to get paid even more here like he’s not I don’t think he’s going to take a hometown discount to stay here on a team that’s gone nowhere since he’s been here So you’re going to have to pay up And if if he wants to extend here you’re probably going to have to give him more than most of us would probably want right So eight or eight to9 million like that sounds about right I think I think my cap is like 9.25 I feel like any higher than that it’s kind of getting like all right like let’s be honest about what you really are here Tuck I mean especially with if Ta Thompson’s moving to the wing um which is a whole another conversation you’re on the second line Like you’re a second line rightwinger and I don’t know if we can be paying you 9 plus you know $9.5 million to uh to be a second line rightwinger But it’s also important you know for context Um you know I’m looking at for example like a lot Alexi Lafrenier who makes 7.45 million per season um just like what his like trajectory is with a 4% cap increase over the next two seasons Um like next season it’s 6.9 then it’s 6.3 then it’s 5.8 5.6 5.3 5.1 and then 4.9 So like it almost in today’s if Alex Tuck went eight years on it’s it’s more than $3 million or about $3 million less than what the dollar amount would be Like by year eight it would be like $6.5 million in today’s money Now is Alex Tuck when he’s 37 is he going to be worth $6.5 million in today’s money I don’t know about that I’ll uh shout I’ll shout out Jesse real quick who commented under our post He said “35year-old Alex Tuck making $9.17 million for another two seasons is nightmare fuel He’s just such a hater of him He’s going to be upset once the extension happens He He will be um but yeah the the dollar amount it it’s going to be in that range eight or nine million 8 to9 million and you know maybe even above above nine a bit um I would hope that like it stays in that eight and a half million I feel like eight and a half is like my sweet spot like that’s like okay it’s fair you got your money um that feels like it’s enough and from evolving hockey a five-year projection for example that would be $9 million on the dot Would you do a five by9 Oh easily I’d sign up for that right now All right So I feel like if you can just you know whittle that down a couple hundred,000 but at the end of the day if if it’s half a million is it really going to break your back that much I don’t know With this team you know maybe your your spending is not exactly what you would want it to be So it’s not like you’re pushing against the cap though So that is that is true I I think what the more interesting part of this conversation is is if he doesn’t want to sign an extension with us at least right now like maybe you know going into next off season he would consider it But if he doesn’t want to sign an extension right now because he wants to see how the year is going to play out I wouldn’t blame him What do you do Like if by the deadline it’s not looking good you know that if he doesn’t assign an extension this off what does not look what is not looking good Uh what are we qualifying that as fringe like on the fringe of playoff team or maybe not even in the race Like I I think if we don’t sign for an extension right this offse in the next you know month or two the conversations are going to start happening about tuck at the deadline Okay let’s say we wake up on deadline morning and you’re five points out of a playoff spot What do you do I mean I think I think I would still keep him but I the value you could probably get for Tuck would be I think very large I mean he’s he’s clearly coveted around the league He’s there’s teams calling about him you know even when we’ve said he’s not available But I it’s will be an interesting conversation if it doesn’t happen If the extension doesn’t happen what would you do I guess it depends on like where like do I still have a chance to sign him Is he like we’ll talk in the off season because I feel like if they miss the playoffs again like I should say if he goes into the season without a contract and they miss the playoffs again I would assume he’s gone I would very much assume he’s just if he would if they wanted to sign he would have done it by that point Um you know there’s nothing preventing the Sabres from meeting his money uh desire So if it just didn’t happen he did not want it to happen So five points That would be a flip of a coin I I guess it’s I think it’s funny I think this goes into a conversation about like Yarmmo Kealinan funny enough because if we get off the talk conversation for a second do we do we think I floated this I don’t know if I’d call it a theory but I it just does it feel like after hearing Kalinan talk the other day and seeing him be very present such as like him going to Bill’s camp for example I know it’s dumb but even something as small as that does it sort of feel like this is like a really soft dry run for him as general manager I I honestly think so I mean there’s there’s already been rumors about Kevin moving up Well that’s my point It’s like we heard it might happen this off season Yep Obviously it didn’t And then from Yarmmo’s point of view he wanted a GM job Didn’t get like he admitted this He said it on Sabres Live He had interviewed for LA He did interviewed for the Islanders Obviously he didn’t get those And then he pivoted to this job now with him wanting a GM job and Adams possibly moving up to upper management I that’s kind of where this stems from I feel like if you read between the lines for me at least it sort of seems like we’re moving in that direction like this is very much I’m not saying Kalinan has he’s not it’s not like he’s acting GM and it’s just like they have different titles I think what this more is is like he said in that interview on Sabres Live how like he had had good conversations with Kevin Adams respected him yada yada yada and then he even said like oh I’ve had great conversations with Terry Pagula and it’s kind of makes you think like all right he’s kind of he’s kind of like wiping the floors he’s doing like the janitor work to kind of you know soak up to the to the upper management to get under their good side And I feel like that’s kind of what we’re witnessing here Like Kalinan’s getting acclimated You know we’re going to see how the next year goes And then when next year comes whether they have a great season you know if they have a great season okay maybe it’s different conversation but they have a bad season and Kevin Adams is let go which I don’t think is going to happen I I still don’t think it’s going to happen but if it does they’re going to keep Kalinan like he’s the GM And I feel like in that scenario okay you’ve done a lot of leg work leg work the past year You’ve gotten acclimated to the organization You’ve gotten on the owner’s good side Here you go And then even if they have a great year I guess that’s where this dry run stems from Like maybe like from my point of view this season has become a Adam does the leg Adams does the leg work gets a framework of a deal or an idea of a deal in place and then Kekal and they go to him ask for the final say and then it’s a done deal and then at the end of the season you evaluate you know was that a good move Kalanin signed off on it so did it end up well did it work well is this going to be the fit for next year for example So like that’s my that’s kind of how I feel about it right now I don’t know if I don’t know if you see it in a similar light No I mean I do because they said how Yarmo is going to be involved in all all the conversations They’re going to be using his connections around the league I think there was already rumors coming out that he was talking to GMs at the combine So it it only makes sense And I think you’re right about the Bills thing like him going there I think that does mean something I mean every year like last year Kevin Adams and Lindy Ruff went to training camp and Terry Begula was there Like the year before that I think it was just Kevin and Donnie and uh and Terry again So I I think it does mean something that they’re praying him around He’s right by the GM side Um I think it does mean something and and I think the other logical um internal front office staff who could have become the GM like we talked about for at length this past year was that Carmanos would probably make the most sense but there’s already rumors that he might not even be here you know this off seasonason it looks it’s looking like he’s gonna stay but there’s already rumors thrown around that he might not be here for the long haul So if it’s not him and Kevin’s not going to be here next year Yamo just makes all the sense in the world and it it gives them credibility and they’ve been looking for that Um so I I think it’ll also be interesting to see you know once free agency is done and or even when the draft is done and Kevin is being interviewed by the by the press it’ll be interesting to see if he credits Yarma or if he if he talks about how he helped him in this process or just how he’s talked about in the media spotlight I think that will be that’ll be telling too So to bring this back to like the Tuck conversation for example if that’s your thinking do you set up Armo’s tenure as GM in that scenario or do you give a one L like is do you want Kevin Adams you know if you’re five points out of a playoff spot do you want Kevin Adams potentially doing like a weird bal 29 2020 deadline ad where you know you’re adding like Wayne Simmons and Dominic Cahoun for example like do you want Kevin AS to have that kind of deadline give the playoffs one last go or do you say do you wave the white flag with Tuck get like a a first round pick and like a really young NHL like I don’t know if you I’ll just like put the I’ll put Detroit back on the table like if it it was like if it’s a Marco Casper type player plus maybe a late first round pick do you do that with Tuck I mean I think of like a team a team that’s been around him a ton like obviously Tampa Bay comes to mind but they don’t have a lot of picks I think of a team like LA Like if LA comes to you and says “We’ll trade you our first round pick this year and Brandt Clark do you trade Alex Tuck for that?” I don’t know That doesn’t it doesn’t really move the needle for me I I also think if you were to decide that trading tuck you know is would be the best for the organization I I just wonder what that means for the other star players on our team Ta and Don Le It’s like if you’re moving tuck like that’s that’s pretty much waving the white flag So what what’s the other fallout Like I I almost that’s why when I first you know saw this conversation being had on Twitter and you know should we trade Tuck at the deadline if he’s not gonna sign extension it’s like I would almost rather keep him till the end of the year Give it our last best shot with this core and if it fails then what the hell We’re going to probably blow it up no matter what anyway So I’ I’d rather True but like you could have you could have a young right-handed defenseman and another first round pick So it just becomes like do you get ahead of the curve I mean let’s say I don’t know let let’s say it’s another disaster season like this one Like let’s say the season’s over in November again Like are you I mean I know I guess we said like five points out was the thing to do like the five five points out makes it difficult to decide but I guess like if this season’s done like if they’re if if screw it if they’re in like the McKenna sweep stakes next year going into like February maybe not like not in last place not maybe not even in the bottom three but if they’re hovering around the bottom five like this year do you wave the white flag on Tuck is does that motivate you to do But uh it’s a tough conversation It’s not it’s not an easy easy decision and I really hope we don’t get to that point I just I don’t know what I would do But I think if we don’t sign that extension in the next month conversations are going to be had this entire rest of the offseason and into next season if we don’t start good And I I don’t want those conversations to happen I love Tuck one of our better players great culture guy and one of the leaders of this team and he’s one of our core pieces I don’t want to be having this conversation but knowing the Savers track record it’s a conversation that has to be had

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