The Buffalo Sabres have one more important piece of business they would like to address before the start of the upcoming season. That would be to try and negotiate a new contract for forward Alex Tuch, who is entering the final year of his contract.
He currently has an AAV of $4.75 million, which has been a bargain for what he has been able to produce on the ice. In the past three seasons, Tuch has averaged 31.3 goals and 37 assists and really been the team's second option behind Tage Thompson.
When looking at some of the recent contracts given out around the league, these are three that make sense for the two sides to use as a framework for that next contract for Alex Tuch.
*All contract figures courtesy of Spotrac
Pavel Buchnevich
Contract: 6 years, $48 million ($8 million AAV)
Pavel Buchnevich signed a six-year extension last summer that will officially begin this season with the $8 million AAV. He has spent the past four seasons with the St. Louis Blues and has had similar production to Alex Tuch over the past few seasons, although Tuch has been a little more productive.
Over the past three seasons, Buchnevich has averaged 24.3 goals and 38 assists per season while averaging around 19 minutes of ice time per game. The fact that Buchnevich is a year older could help Tuch make the case that he should get even more than the $8 million AAV but a six-year contract seems like the right length.
Nikolaj Ehlers
Contract: 6 years, $51 million ($8.5 million AAV)
Nikolaj Ehlers is in a different situation than some of the other players on this list, as he earned this latest contract as a free agent. The long-time Winnipeg Jets forward would sign with the Carolina Hurricanes this summer.
Ehlers is another player who makes a strong case for Alex Tuch when discussing a new contract with the Sabres because Tuch has out-produced Ehlers over the past few seasons. He has averaged only 20 goals and 33 assists per season, but also has injury concerns, having missed 50 games over this period.
There is no question that players who usually reach free agency are able to get bigger contracts as they have multiple teams competing to sign them. This helps them drive up the price, but in terms of these negotiations, this is probably the ceiling, but it would be a good contract for the two sides to agree based on what Tuch has been able to do.
Brock Boeser
Contract: 7 years, $50.75 million ($7.25 million AAV)
Brock Boeser was another player who was expected to reach free agency this summer but instead elected to re-sign with the Vancouver Canucks on a seven-year deal. He has the lowest AAV of the three players on this list, but that is also because he is coming off a rather disappointing season.
Last season, he had only 25 goals and 25 assists, which was a notable decrease from his 40 goal season the previous year. He certainly carried some risk for the Canucks to commit long-term to him but at the AAV they agreed to, it is worth the risk.
The Buffalo Sabres are going to want to lock in Alex Tuch long-term and it seems that Tuch wants to remain in Buffalo. For the two sides to get a deal done, it probably is going to be a six-year deal with an AAV between $8 and $8.5 million.
That would make Tuch the highest-paid forward and the third-highest-paid player on the Buffalo Sabres. It will be a commitment from Buffalo, but a smart move to make at this point.