The Buffalo Sabres have taken care of one contract, but there are still some important decisions coming. Buffalo recently signed Louis Crevier to a contract extension, giving the defenseman some security while also keeping another young player under contract.
Crevier isn't going to be the biggest contract Buffalo has to worry about, though. The Sabres still have several young players who are going to need new deals, and two names that stand out are Jack Quinn and Jiri Kulich.
Both players are set to become restricted free agents (RFAs) at season's end, and both are expected to be important parts of Buffalo's future. That makes their next contracts a little more interesting than simply figuring out what the numbers are going to look like.
Sabres should extend Jack Quinn and Jiri Kulich next
Quinn has already shown what he can do at the NHL level when healthy, and Buffalo has invested plenty into his development. Injuries have been an issue throughout his career, but the Sabres still see him as someone who can be an important offensive player for them moving forward.
Kulich is in a similar position. He is still young and has plenty of room to develop, but Buffalo clearly sees him as part of the group it is trying to build around. His next contract will give the Sabres a better idea of how they are going to fit him into the roster long term. That is why one of these two players could be the next contracts that Buffalo gets done. The Crevier extension takes care of one piece, but Quinn and Kulich are much bigger decisions for the Sabres because of where they fit into the future of the team.
It is difficult to say which one will be next. A lot could depend on how the season trends — Quinn is off to a fantastic start — and what each player is looking for in their next contract. Buffalo also has to think about how much term they want to give each player and how those contracts will fit with the rest of the young core. For the Sabres, though, getting these deals figured out will be important. Quinn and Kulich are both players Buffalo expects to be around for a long time, and their next contracts could be the start of the next group of extensions the organization has to work through.
Crevier's deal shows just how important Buffalo views locking up young players. There is likely going to be the same urgency to get both Quinn and Kulich’s contracts done. There is an old line that Elliotte Friedman says about betting on talent. This is something that Buffalo has never been afraid to do. They bet on Mattias Samuelsson when others around the league thought the deal was an overpay and now look how vital he is to the organization. So, there really isn’t going to be much surprise when they decide to lock up Quinn and Kulich.
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