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It absolutely might be. Waiting is riskier. But it only takes one "all-in" (foolish) owner who watches the NBA/NFL. The early era Pegula. For example, the Avs could easily have a top-line opening if Necas goes to UFA, and they really only need to set aside cash for a Makar extension in the long-term. Would you rather have guaranteed cash and have Norris/Kulich as your center for 7 years or angle for 3x$10M to play with McKinnon/Nelson and hunt some Cups before the CBA expires and there's the next lockout in 2030?

Eh, signing now might be the better play. We don't know exactly when all of the terms of the next CBA kick in, but we know there is a high likelihood some/many of them will kick in THIS season rather than 1 year from now. IF the 6/7 year maxes are introduced before or at the beginning of the next jeague year in July, his signing a deal taking him to 37 could work out much better for him than signing a deal at a higher annual rate that only goes through age 35. Big men don't tend to have the seriously long careers unless their freaks of nature like Chara. If he were younger when his current deal ends, you could very well be onto something. But he and Adams/Pegula can factor those projected cap increases into what he signs for and they can know they're effectively prorating his salary from the 5 years he'll still be useful into an 8 year deal and any buyout or retirement adjustments at the end likely won't be crippling to the team for a myriad of reasons (some good and some not so good 😉 ).

At least one plausible explanation would be to gain favor with someone? Not saying her, but someone. It doesn't mean he's doing her a direct favor but it could mean he's doing it for someone who can grant a favor to him who had interest in moving her.

Your response makes no sense to me. I am assuming that he will sign. And that will be a good thing. Signing an extension with one of your own players is what is normally done. You seem to portray it as if it is an exceptional act. It’s not. It’s how most franchises conduct business. And maybe you are not aware of it but not making the playoffs for a generation is not an example of a normally functioning franchise. That’s why I expected a little more action by the GM this offseason.

The cap next season is going up an additional $9M to $104M. No player who has access to that UFA class should sign an extension this summer/season. McDavid and Eichel should reset the league next summer. Tuch, whose production has been severely undercompensated in his four years with the Sabres, should wait to take offers from all teams. Some teams next summer are going to have solid, nearly-full, playoff capable rosters and still have $25M to throw at 5-6 players, half of whom might be ELC/minimum 4th liners/6-7 D. And if he believes in the Sabres after this season's outcome, then the Sabres could be one of them. You're throwing away a fortune here. Don't be a fool.

Well that's just it isn't it. So far Tuch hasn't done anything. But if he signs then all it says is he was willing to persist with this team. We won't know if he is aware of what could change or will change. We only know that using whatever criteria he decided was important to him and his family that Buffalo was where he wanted to be. If he doesn't sign, then yes I think it sends a clear message he didn't have faith in the team's chances of success. You are injecting your opinion and rationale into his thought process and it's irrelevant. The only thing that matters is what he actually chooses to do. Yep. 100%. Nothing about this makes the Sabres better, it makes them "the same" unless there is an immeasurable morale boost, etc. That said, people could then argue that trading Tuch could have brought back players who could improve the team more than extending Tuch. Probably won't know.. and frankly far too many brain cycles to spend on a team who seems to not spend enough brain cycles on itself.

The canary died and the mine is on fire 🔥.

That’s more accurate than the way I phrased it

IF he doesn't extend with the Sabres, yes, he is a canary in the coal mine. If he re-signs, no, it isn't a canary in the coal mine move, but it could (might?) go a long way towards keeping the other 2 LT long time vets on board with what comes next.

I’m pretty sure you understand that your opinions aren’t universally accepted.

Easiest contract negotiation ever: blank check. He’s not going to take so much as to actively harm the team he loves. At most he’ll take market rate this deal will soon be added to the shortlist of Adams best moves as gm So called because it’s literally a short list

The one other thing I’ll add about Tuch is if the team actually improved around him it would probably offset a lot of his likely age related downturn over the first few years of the deal as perceptively it would stave off the inevitable age related erosion through more team-wide support. PP inflation, etc. Signing him is a no brainer if the team is good it’ll be a good deal and if they are bad there’s no hope anyways What was Adams gonna do, wheel and deal for a better player? LMAO

“Pay him whatever he wants cause we will have space”

Can you explain this for me?

8.5, 9, 9.5 or 10: We wont spend to the cap and the GM will whine about taxes and palm trees anyway. so the number for me is what it is

I think what irks you more is Tuch extending now flies in the face of the narrative that's been built all offseason that Tuch was as good as gone. Now we hear he may be signing before the season begins. Clutch your pearls

What they needed was to improve the defensive play so we don't give away scoring chances like (quoting Lindy) "Halloween candy." I think they took several steps toward that this offseason.

What part of my statement would he disagree with? 🙂

What did these "people" do?

Players have a myriad of potential motivations - in addition humans are resistant to change. He also loves buffalo so would obviously be biased. He’ll sign and I don’t think we need to read much more into it than the price was right and he bleeds blue Maybe he’s confident in the direction after trending down for the last 2 seasons..maybe he’s not. It doesn’t mean anything one way or the other to a certainty he was spouting off in the post game last year that “a year ago we’d have folded!” when the results were the exact same or worse. The idea he has a better grasp on the outlook of the team or is more likely to be right or more likely to remove his own bias OR that he’d even be an open book about his true thoughts doesn’t jive to me He’s not a canary in the coal mine - look at NMCs and free agency for that. Tuch is a Sabre through and through

Maybe he doesn’t agree with you.

I'm not talking about every player. I am talking about a soon to be 30 year old on a team that hasn't sniffed the playoffs in forever, has a clueless GM and a buffoon of an owner. If you were Tuch knowing the above, what would you do?

If you told me that in a job interview with any seriousness I would decline the offer letter (assuming I could get an offer letter of similar value). There is no real world applicability to this for anybody's resume is in demand. It is like Westinghouse telling you to ignore the fact that they have been trash for eternity, knowing full well you could just go make the same money at LG, Samsung, Sony, etc. And frankly it is a total bottom tier move for anybody to try and ernestly sell an employee otherwise.

There’s no room on the Buffalo Sabres for a 50 win GM