Tuch Says Sabres Moved In Contract Negotiations But Did Not Close The Gap
Buffalo sent veteran winger to Washington in a sign-and-trade before the NHL Draft
Video Transcript
What do you think of this deal for the Sabres, from your perspective, and then what do you think of it from the Capitals' perspective?
Well, I mean, Jarmo Keklinen did not budge when it came to Tuck.
There clearly was marching orders.
I don't know if it was from ownership or basically a decision that was made, by the club going back as far as the beginning of last season.
But, you know, as we've said on this show previously, you know, ever since Adrian Kempe signed that $10.625 million deal with Los Angeles, you know, the Bartletts, who are Tuck's representatives, used that as a benchmark.
And the Sabres were clearly never willing to go over $10 million.
Apparently, Pierre LeBrun reported, last night that, the Sabres improved their offer to just under $10 million, but wouldn't go the full eight years.
So, they got a third-round pick as opposed to Toronto getting a fifth-round pick for Darren Raddysh.
But, you know, Tuck was the most prominent, unrestricted free agent in this class.
as for the Capitals, you know, it's a little risky because Tuck is 30 years old, but he scored 30 goals or more the, three of the last four years.
And we know Alex Ovechkin, he's either going back to Russia this summer or next summer, so they needed to replace him.
So it's a good add for them, and 10.5 million on an eight-year deal is sort of par for the course.
The cap's going up, and that's the price of poker.
They paid it.
Other teams, didn't get a chance to.
So it's a good move for the Capitals and an understandable move for the Sabres.
