Aggressive Team Out West Poised To Offer Alex Tuch Massive Deal In Free Agency

It has not been good news on the Alex Tuch front for Buffalo Sabres fans the past couple of weeks. Nearly every reliable source has indicated that the two sides are far apart in extension negotiations, and that Tuch will be hitting unrestricted free agency on July 1. 

With that, a number of teams have been connected to Tuch, and there are plenty who would love to get their hands on him. But which teams have the need and the cap room to make it a reality? 

According to Nick Kypreos of Sportsnet, the Seattle Kraken meet both of those criteria. And certainly, this is a team that has been offensively-challenged for a few years now, and could badly use Tuch's 30+ goals at the top of their lineup. 

Kypreos even suggests that Tuch may be waiting on free agency to give the Kraken a chance to come calling:

The Seattle Kraken have intentions of being very aggressive this summer, so could that be a factor holding up Alex Tuch from re-signing with Buffalo before he becomes a free agent on July 1? 

There is a lot of pressure on Seattle GM Jason Botterill to shake up the roster and, especially, to find more scoring. There is no doubt they could offer north of $10 million per season to the 30-year-old Tuch.  

And that is the minimum of what it would take to get a deal done, from all accounts. Reports have the Sabres stalling in the $9M AAV range, while Tuch has been asking for something around the $10.5M mark. The Adrian Kempe neighborhood, as it's often referred to. 

The Kraken could use Alex Tuch as much as any team in NHL, & will offer big bucks

Seattle finished 28th in the NHL in goals per game this past season. And trade deadline add Bobby McMann, who popped 10 goals in 18 games, was a big reason they even finished that high. For now, his return isn't guaranteed, as he, too, is a pending UFA, and has a chance to really cash in for his first big payday in the NHL, coming off a 29-goal campaign. 

The two sides are talking, per the latest reports, but we'll have to see if the Kraken can come to terms. 

Even if they do, their $28M in cap space could allow them to sign both McMann AND Tuch.