Jumping the Gun: Thompson or Tuch?

[darksabre]

The season ain't over yet, but that doesn't mean we can't already be doing a debate on the future of the top line and how the team should be spending its cap space, right?

So let's put the cart before the horse. You're not happy, Jarmo isn't happy. Tage, Tuch, and Peyton aren't it next year.  

Do you keep Tage and his friendly contract? Or do you use it to get good value in a trade?

Do you let Tuch walk? Or do you get Tage out of the mix and give him that contract he wants?

You can't pick neither, other, or anything else. Just a straight up coin flip. 

I'm sure this thread will be very normal. 

[Mr Peabody]

Contract(s) make this one easy. 

[darksabre]

12 minutes ago, Mr Peabody said:

Contract(s) make this one easy. 

Probably, right?

And jettisoning goal scoring, even if it's streaky, is something we shouldn't do willingly. 

But...

[Night Train]

Reactionary after a loss. 

Tage is now Skinner. Got it. 

Let Jarmo do his job to make the Sabres better. His first off-season approaches. 

[Archie Lee]

The Sabres are one of the last 5 NHL teams playing this year. Of the 27 who are done, most will be trying to find ways to improve. I don’t imagine that any of those teams think that moving on from their best players is the starting point for improvement (unless they are rebuilding).

If Jersey, as an example, offers us Jack Hughes for Thompson in a star for star hockey trade (give or take an asset or two), then sure.  Otherwise, I don’t see us getting better next year by moving on from Thompson or Tuch.  

Nothing about the playoffs has changed my view for this offseason.  Indeed, the play of Doan, Benson, Helenius, Östlund, and even Quinn (whose game I have liked, though it hasn’t generated goals), has reinforced my view.  Extend Tuch, and move on from Greenway, Zucker, and Norris. Get some futures to keep the pipeline stocked.  If something big becomes available (Thomas), take a shot at it.  

 

[Archie Lee]

2 minutes ago, Night Train said:

Reactionary after a loss. 

Tage is now Skinner. Got it. 

Let Jarmo do his job to make the Sabres better. His first off-season approaches. 

I will judge Jarmo on what he does here. But, it is probably worth noting that (removing the Covid play-in round), our 1st round playoff win doubled the number of playoff series that Jarmo the GM’s teams have won. He does not have a history of managing an NHL team to anything that resembles playoff success.

[transient]

Where's the McJesus option? 😄

[SabresBillsFan]

Tuch isn’t worth 10 million and he could of went out and proven this playoffs that he does deserve it and instead we hear the same excuses all the time from the big softie!

[Wyldnwoody44]

Tuch is done for me unless he signs a more team friendly deal, which I'm not expecting to happen. 

[SabresBillsFan]

1 minute ago, Wyldnwoody44 said:

Tuch is done for me unless he signs a more team friendly deal, which I'm not expecting to happen. 

I seen the same thing here when he was in Vegas, keeps you wanting more because he has the size and speed but he doesn’t bring it. At least in Vegas he was getting paid what he was worth but asking for 10 million, no chance in hell I would give him that much.

[The Jokeman]

Age and production matter. Thompson is in a better place for both.

[Mustache of God]

16 minutes ago, transient said:

Where's the McJesus option? 😄

Trade Tage + UPL + Levi for McDavid. Who says no to that? Edmonton gets a star center and shores up  their goaltending.

[darksabre]

17 minutes ago, transient said:

Where's the McJesus option? 😄

You joke but the group chat has been talking about it for weeks. 

I think there's like a 2% chance it could happen! 😄 

[Mustache of God]

The real answer is that we can't begin to even think about this question until the post-season is over and they disclose if they're playing injured. If we come to find out tage has a broken wrist or Tuch has a broken rib then you can't really blame them for how they're playing, well, Tage's penalties make me think he might have a brain disability. 

[darksabre]

35 minutes ago, Night Train said:

Reactionary after a loss. 

Tage is now Skinner. Got it. 

Let Jarmo do his job to make the Sabres better. His first off-season approaches. 

Hardly. I'm very okay with how the playoffs are going generally and have posted as much here. 

But I'm a long term Tage hater. I also don't care much about Tuch despite all of his "local kid" cred.

So I'm not really trying to weigh in. I'm just curious where the rest of the board is at with respect to what the long term look of this team's top line should be with respect to these two players.

Surprised so far to see as many votes for Tuch as he has. 

[#freejame]

Thompson has the contract so you keep him and move him to wing. His contract is something that might be able to anchor a McDavid deal if you really wanted to go for it n

[PASabreFan]

Just now, #freejame said:

Thompson has the contract so you keep him and move him to wing. His contract is something that might be able to anchor a McDavid deal if you really wanted to go for it n

Anchor? The whole hockey world including Edmonton is seeing Playoff Tage.

[transient]

7 minutes ago, Mustache of God said:

The real answer is that we can't begin to even think about this question until the post-season is over and they disclose if they're playing injured. If we come to find out tage has a broken wrist or Tuch has a broken rib then you can't really blame them for how they're playing, well, Tage's penalties make me think he might have a brain disability. 

FWIW, Tage has been off since he was slew footed in the Boston series.

[PTS]

Thompson has looked like he's been playing hurt since before the playoffs. His shot velocity hasn't been anywhere near the same. His balance and stickhandling hasn't been the same. As for Tuch, it's hard to think he hasn't suffered something early this round. He was good to great in Round 1. I refuse to believe his effort level is due to him not trying. Something is holding him back.

The obvious answer here is Thompson based on his production when healthy and his age. That said, if both are hampered with injuries right now, why is Lindy playing them on the same line. Krebs has literally been the best player on that line and he's not the type of player that will drive a line. I hope we split them up for G6.

Edited May 15 by PTS

[SabresBillsFan]

I just heard when Tuch is on the ice Montreal has 8 goals compared to zero! Totally unacceptable 

[Second Line Center]

If Montreal goes on to win the Cup everything negatively said about this team the last 24 hours will need to be reevaluated.   
 

So I’m not commenting on big things regarding the roster until the Stanley Cup Finals at the earliest and that includes what to do with Tuch.  

[John Tucker]

Before the playoffs I would've been all in on keeping Tage.  Now I'm not so sure.  If this is who he will always be in the playoffs, I don't want it.

[SabresBillsFan]

You people should know better, Tage is the first line. You shut him down you basically shut down that line. Tuch is a big softie with loads of skill which he doesn’t bring it most nights. We wouldn’t even be having this discussion if Tuch didn’t want 10 million. He ain’t worth more then Tage’s contract 

[msw2112]

Team chemistry is a real thing and I think that Tuch is a big part of the Sabres core and a big part of the positive chemistry that has gotten them to where they are today, despite not having a great series this round (so far).  The whole "Baldwinsville - grew up a fan 2 hours away" thing is also real.  Those things need to be taken in to account when evaluating whether to re-sign Tuch.  In the end, it comes down to numbers.  One number is 30, Tuch's age, another is somewhere between $8M and $12M, his asking price, and the third number is between 4 and 8, the term of the new contract.  In my opinion, given the many factors, Tuch is worth a slight overpay to keep him on the roster.  He's not worth a huge overpay ($11M or $12M with a longer term).  As the salary cap goes up over the years, the numbers won't look as bad towards the end of the contract, and teams do need veteran players in their mid-to-late 30s as part of a proper roster mix.  The Sabres can't overpay, as they have too many young forwards who will compete for roster space, ice time, and salary cap space - Ostund, Helenius (he's officially on the roster going forward), Kulich (assuming he can come back), Krebs (still young/early 20's), Benson, Doan (locked in with new contract), Quinn, and so on.  I'm not sure who else is in the pipeline (Wahlberg?), but other forwards will be drafted each year and some will eventually make the team.

If forced to choose between Thompson and Tuch, you have to go with Thompson.  At $7M per year and 40 goals per season, he's the obvious choice.  He's also several years younger than Tuch.

I like Greenway, as you can't teach size and he's a valuable player when he's on his game, but he's too expensive and too inconsistent, so they need to move on from him when his contract expires.  I also like Norris, given his skill, compete level, and 200 foot game, but with his injury history, he just can't be relied on.  Ideally, they'd find a way to move on from him, but nobody is taking on that bloated contract, so I think they're stuck.  I don't know what a buyout would look like.  Most likely, they'll have to keep him and cycle in young players during the times he's injured (which we know will be many).

Edited May 15 by msw2112

[Nacho Libre]

Tuch. Honestly, he’s approximately 50x more likeable