Buffalo GM Jarmo Kekalainen indicated after taking control of the Sabres last month that resuming negotiations with winger Alex Tuch, and according to the Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta, he has already been in contact with agent Brian Bartlett and that contract discussions are expected to continue into January.
The issue that appears to be the sticking point is Tuch’s asking price, which has reportedly been in excess of $10 million per season on an eight-year max deal, close to what LA Kings forward Adrian Kempe signed for earlier in the season, but there is not any proof to this point whether the Sabres stance has loosened since October, when Tuch paused talks with the club.
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The clock is ticking on the Sabres, as they have to make some progress and get the 29-year-old winger locked up before the March 6th trade deadline or trade him, which conceivably could bring back a considerable return.
Another potential ticking clock that Kekalainen inherited was the Sabres goaltending situation. The veteran GM indicated that he was on board with the club claiming Colten Ellis off waivers from St. Louis and thus maintaining three goalies on the NHL roster, but that addition pretty much ruled out once-prized Sabres prospect Devon Levi playing in the NHL this season.
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Levi signed a two-year, $1.625 million deal with the Sabres this summer, and did not have any leverage since he did not qualify to be a restricted free agent with the ability to sign an offer sheet. The 24-year-old was waiver exempt and demoted after training camp after putting up two excellent seasons in the AHL with Rochester. This season his numbers have slipped slightly (11-5-4, 2.82 GAA, .906 save %).
The dilemma Buffalo faces is that Levi, like Ellis this season, will not be waiver exempt next year. Kekalainen could use the young goalie as a trade commodity in a goalie-starved league to add help and improve the club’s playoff chances before the deadline, but if he waits until the summer to make a decision, he risks getting little in return.
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