Sabres make smart gamble with Zach Benson extension
Wednesday was a bittersweet day for Buffalo Sabres fans. On one hand, the Sabres said goodbye to 30-goal scorer Alex Tuch thanks to their sign-and-trade deal with the Washington Capitals. On the other hand, they locked up fan favorite Zach Benson to a seven-year extension with an average annual value (AAV) of $7.5 million.
Benson, 21, had his career-best campaign last season, with 13 goals and 30 assists for 43 points in 65 games. He then proved himself as a playoff performer with five goals and four assists for nine points in 13 postseason games. With this extension, the Sabres are hoping they’ve secured a young, ascending forward that can score and agitate in equal measure.
On Thursday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, hosts Tyler Yaremchuk and former NHL goaltender Carter Hutton discussed the value of Benson’s extension in Buffalo.
Tyler Yaremchuk: Was that extension higher or lower than you expected, either in the term or the AAV?
Carter Hutton: I guess I thought higher in the AAV, just because of where he was at and what he has proven, being inconsistent during the regular season in terms of staying healthy and producing points. But I also agree with the fact that, with the cap going up, does it even matter? You have a kid that is a dog, he’s a honey badger when it comes to playoff time. He put it on full display. He was a big factor in every single playoff game that the Buffalo Sabres had, so I think locking up a guy like that if you’re (Sabres general manager) Jarmo Kekäläinen and you’re trying to build something, where he talked about a lot of players taking Buffalo off their no-trade list, and I think it’s because of efforts from him and his staff and what they were able to do in the playoffs. I think it’s a good signing. It’s one of those ones you kind of hedge your bet and hope that six years from now he’s even better of a player, instead of having him on a two or three-year deal where that term comes up and now you’ve got to pay him through the roof.
Tyler Yaremchuk: The years are not overly surprising, because I think it makes sense for both sides. Benson’s 21 years old, you give him a seven-year deal. For him, he goes “Oh my god, I’m going to get just over $50 million now, and if I hit, I’m a 28-year-old UFA.” It’s a big win for Zach Benson. For the Sabres, I know they’re paying up here because they obviously believe in a 21-year-old who already has three years of NHL experience, that makes sense. He had a great playoffs. I also think that with Tuch out of the picture now, if you’re projecting as Buffalo is, and Benson’s a bit of an analytics darling and he puts forward really strong underlying numbers, if you’re the Sabres and you’re going “Next year he’s going to have a bigger role. Next year he’s going to have more power play time.” You’re looking ahead and saying if this guy pops for 25 goals next year, or if this guy pops for 30 goals a couple years from now, all of a sudden we’re looking at $10.5 or $11 million for him. With the way that the cap is going to keep skyrocketing, a little bit of sticker shock on a guy who’s career-high is 13 goals from last year so $7.5 million for that kind of makes you open your eyes, but with the way the cap’s going to keep shooting up I don’t think there’s a ton of risk here.
You can catch the full discussion and the rest of Thursday’s episode here…