Insider Explains The Sabres' Big Dilemma With Alex Tuch

It was one of the first things that new Buffalo Sabres GM Jarmo Kekalainen addressed upon taking the reins from the deposed Kevyn Adams: The new GM wants to get the Alex Tuch talks back on track and get the two-way star signed to an extension.

However, as revealed by insider Elliotte Friedman on NHL Morning Skate on NHL Network Radio, there are a couple of big hurdles and a big dilemma the Sabres face in getting that done. And it all starts with the number Tuch is looking for on his next deal.

I’ve heard that he's always been looking for eight figures (i.e. $10M+ AAV). And I heard that Adrian Kempe (and his extension with the LA Kings for a $10.625M AAV) was kind of the market for him. And I also heard that the Sabres weren't even close to that.

However, that huge number, if Buffalo were to somehow come up to that, presents more problems for the club, says Friedman:

The other thing I heard there was that the Sabres have some big decisions to make: They’ve gotta sign (Zach) Benson, they’ve got (Jeff) Skinner’s buyout money. I think they were weighing that if they do what Tuch wants, they're going to have to make some big decisions elsewhere. When Adams was there, they were weighing do we do that (sign Tuch) and make some hard decisions, or do we do some other things we wanna do, and say, ‘Hey, we just can't keep Tuch.’

Tuch is looking to more than double his AAV

Tuch is currently on a $4.75 million cap hit on his expiring deal, and having that grow to more than $10 million for next season will put the squeeze on.

The 20-year-old Benson will be a restricted free agent, coming off his entry-level deal. Per AFP Analytics, he was projected before the season to be able to command a $7.4 million cap hit on a seven-year deal, or a $4 million cap hit on a two-year bridge contract extension. But he'd likely have to pick up his scoring to get to that level. He did just notch his first two goals of the season this past week, and has 13 points in 19 games.

Buffalo will be taking a big hit on the Skinner buyout next season, when $6.44 million will be sliced off their cap space, before it drops down to $2.44 million for the final three years of the buyout payments. Overall, as things stand at this point, the Sabres are projected to have $21 million in cap space for next season.