The recent free agency class was further trimmed when the Utah Mammoth signed Nick Schmaltz to an eight-year, $64 million extension. In a new article, The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun suggests that Schmaltz’s new extension could have an impact on extension negotiations for the projected top forward in the upcoming free agent class, Alex Tuch of the Buffalo Sabres.
Negotiations have been happening for some time between Tuch and the Sabres, with many pundits indicating that Tuch is targeting a similar deal to the eight-year, $85MM extension Adrian Kempe signed with the Los Angeles Kings earlier this year. LeBrun notes that Schmaltz and Tuch have strikingly similar production this year, with Schmaltz arguably having a slight edge. LeBrun believes that Buffalo will now use Schmaltz as their preferred comparison.
Still, compared to Mason Marchment, Anthony Mantha, and Oliver Bjorkstrand, Tuch is easily the top upcoming free agent forward younger than 33, and some teams may be willing to meet $11MM per year. Depending on how rigid the Sabres want to be in negotiations, Tuch would undoubtedly be leaving a large amount of money on the table if he were not to test the free agent waters this summer.
Other extension updates:
- In the same article, LeBrun touched on the situation between the Vegas Golden Knights and defenseman Rasmus Andersson. The Golden Knights had been connected to Andersson for a few years before acquiring him in mid-January, and many believed an extension would be signed relatively quickly. However, no new contract has been signed yet. Regardless, LeBrun indicated that the only reason an extension hasn’t been signed is that Vegas isn’t allowed to do so, yet. They only have $3.2MM projected in cap space for the summer and won’t be able to register a new deal for Andersson until they put Alex Pietrangelo‘s $8.8MM salary back on LTIR when they’re eligible to.
- Lastly, LeBrun suggested that the Anaheim Ducks had little interest in paying the price for defenseman John Carlson as a rental. LeBrun believes that Carlson, his family, and his representation will discuss the transition to Orange County over the last month of the regular season and decide if he’s willing to stay before the playoffs begin. If Carlson extends with the Ducks, it’s believed that it’ll be a two-year contract worth between $8MM and $9MM per season.