Next year's free agent class had the potential to be historic with players like Kirill Kaprizov, Connor McDavid, Adrian Kempe, Kyle Connor, Jack Eichel, and Buffalo Sabres' forward Alex Tuch among the players set to be free agents. However, over the past two weeks a number of the players expected to be free agents have agreed to extensions and this could be a big problem for the Buffalo Sabres.
The reason is that with the lack of options in free agency for teams around the league, it is going to increase the interest in someone like Alex Tuch. He has been very productive over the past few seasons for the Sabres and is one of the better two-way forwards in the league.
It becomes even more complicated for the Sabres in that, not only will interest be higher but the salary cap is only going up. That means teams will be willing to essentially overpay for someone like Tuch, and he has to see that based on the current landscape around the league.
Now it has been reported that both Tuch and the Sabres want to get a deal done but the fact that nothing has been finalized to this point has to be a concern. If Tuch gets off to a fast start, he may re-consider and wait until after the season to test out free agency.
In that scenario, there might be teams out there that not only are willing to offer more but might be closer to a Stanley Cup.
Buffalo Sabres can't wait any longer to get a new deal done with Alex Tuch
Entering training camp, the Buffalo Sabres certainly had to have an idea of what they wanted to offer in terms of a new contract. However, that number will have to go up to get Tuch to sign an extension based on recent contracts.
While it will require a bigger contract, it is still worth it for the Sabres to get a deal done. It isn't just because of the player, but this franchise has to take steps towards changing the perception around the league about the Sabres. They can't afford to let another productive player leave Western New York and it doesn't sound like Tuch wants to.
The Sabres have seen some great players leave during their playoff drought, but if Tuch were to leave, it might be the toughest for them to rebound from. It certainly could have a domino effect with other players on the roster that would essentially force the team to start the rebuild completely over.