Up North Hustle

Just 9 days after Alex Tuch signed his new deal. 2 single days into the new league year.

I repeat. This is where the league is going. Like it or not, agree with it or not. This is where the NHL is headed. The NHL is finally getting some much needed new traction. Which big picture wise means, more money to go around.

Welp, a wise man once said:

“Mo money, mo problems”

-Biggie Smalls

More money in the sports world doesn’t necessarily mean it’s all good. The bigger it gets, the more shenanigans (to which Im being extremely kind) we tend to see. And unfortunately, not see.

One way or another this kid is gonna get $18mil per season. He’s 21. He’s been in the league 3 yrs. He’s a very good young player. But $18mil per?

Nah.

But when this thing becomes official, the ripple down effect will be enormous. In time, everybody will feel it.

Other young stars that are a year or 2 from their new deal are gonna look at Carlsson and say, this dude’s getting $18 per? So Im getting $19? $20 $21? Right? And as they should! And there’s a handful of guys that would have a rock solid argument right off rip. And if their agents don’t ask for that I’d be looking for a new agent.

For reference, the unanimous best player in the world Conor McDavid currently makes $12.5 mill, per. He is light yrs ahead of Carlsson.

Soon enough you’re wading into the NHL versions of QB Daniel Jones of the world. Guys that get handed $15 per and everyone’s looking at each other like, what just happened?

But guess what? Because of aforementioned shenanzz, the notorious “market” now dictates Daniel Jones gets as much money or more than a s**tload of guys that deserve it.

Like it or not. Agree with it or not. This is where the NHL is headed. This will rock the entire foundation of roster building. I wonder how Cutter Gauthier, Carlsson’s 22yr old teammate that scored 41 goals last year, feels about the situation. He is also currently a restricted free agent. I wonder how much money his agent will be asking for.

Tell me again that Alex Tuch isn’t worth $10.5 in this new market. I’m gonna go ahead and call bull s**t.

For my Sabres fans, some thoughts on Alex Tuch.

You can find me 100% on the fence here.

On one hand, it was rumored that Tuch wanted his deal to reflect that of the rising salary cap in the NHL that went into affect today, July 1st. The cap will go up $8.5 million from $95.5 mil to $104 mill for the 26-27 season with a max individual salary of $20.8 mill.

So for me, if the rising cap was truly the reason for Tuch’s expectations I’ve gotta say, I don’t blame him one bit. IMO, he’s earned it and all else aside, it’s just good business. He’s a player that affects the game in far more ways than just putting the puck in the net. He’s been a great soldier and played and led through all the losing and boos. We can debate his value in the comments if you so choose.

Let me throw an example out there.

It is now known that Seattle offered Dallas’ free agent LW Jason Robertson an 8 yr deal for $15.5 million per season. Lets look at the his stats next to Tuch’s:

Robertson: 45 goals, 51 assists for 96pts. 15 power play goals, 0 short handed goals, 48 hits, 34 blocks, +22

Tuch: 33 goals, 33 assists for 66pts. 7 PPG’s, 3 short handed goals, 82 hits, 90 blocks, +24

To be clear, I am in no way insinuating Robinson doesn’t deserve a raise like the one offered by Seattle (he turned it down). What I am saying is that $15.5 million offer is a reflection of where contracts are going under the new cap raise. It should also be noted that the NHL is widely projecting that the cap will raise another $13 million one year from today. That max individual salary is sure to rise from the $20.8 it’ll be this coming season. Just in time for Conor McDavid, the best player in the world who currently makes $14 million per year, to get his new extension. I for one will be shocked if that deal is anything less than $22 million per year.

It only takes a little imagination to see where I’m going with this.

So say Jason Robertson gets $15.5 from some team. Can you honestly tell me Alex Tuch doesn’t deserve $10.5? FIVE million $ less. Tuch doesn’t deserve it? Personally, I think he does. It has been my thought from the beginning that he would get what he was looking from someone and he did just that with Washington. 8yrs, $10.5 per.

So what’s the other hand you may be thinking. This ones simple. The age. Robertson turns 27 on the 22nd of this month. Tuch turned 30 in May.

When it comes to the Sabres specifically, this is where I get stalled out on the money and yrs Tuch was looking for. If he were asking for 4 or even 5yrs I would have given it to him and not thought twice. But 8yrs at $10.5 per, at 30yrs old is tough.

Historically, deals like that in any sport don’t, umm, age well. But that’s where the business end comes into play. Understanding that most of the 32 teams are in very different stages of roster development. For a variety of different reasons. “The market”, now matter how vastly out of wack it appears to be (in most sports really) dictates that somebody out there will not only need you, but can afford you. On top of that, you’ll have choices.

At the end of the day I can’t blame a guy with a wife and 2 small children that has very much put in his time and earned it, trying to max out his value on very likely the last NHL contract he’ll ever sign. As a Sabres fan I’m glad they stood their ground. As a human being, I’m happy as a clam for Alex Tuch. Proud to call him a Sabre and thankful for the time and effort well spent. Best of luck to you sir. We’ll see you down the road.



📸: Alex Tuch’s IG

Part 3: Brandon Beane

Right off rip. The whole, “power play” thing, the “snake” thing is 110% grade A horse s**t.

The owner made some decisions. I have no doubt Beane had opinions but at the end of the day, the owner, and McDermott himself, are responsible for him being fired. Certainly plenty of layers on how it all went down and how big of a s**t show that presser ended up being, thats the owner too. Beane now does his job. Manages it.

Has Beane made some mistakes? Of course. Absolutey a head scratcher or two in there imo. Yet I’ve discussed it many times on this page. No one, and I mean no one, bats 1.000. Does he have some serious work to do? You bet. Need an injection of star power? Yes. Is that all possible? Without question.

At the end if the day, when it comes to player acquisition be it draft, free agency, whatever. Brandon Beane’s positives far, farrrrr outweigh the negatives. If they didn’t we wouldnt be anywhere near having this conversation at all. In emotion SZN, how soon we forget Big Baller Beane and the mountain of great work he’s done to get us here.

I have a marathon list going so if anyone wants to point out or discuss specifics, please do so in the comments. Trust me when I say, I’d love to. Oh by the way, I’d tread lightly on the acquisitions that ended up with injury trouble. Just saying.

This off-season, I expect fireworks. Come training camp I expect they’ll be plenty to be excited about. And not at all for the reason that some folks are out there saying. That he’s just gonna try to prove everybody wrong. Personally, I think it’s been in the works for the past couple years. I’ve written about it on several occasions. I’ve had this discussion with countless people. In my opinion, since the moment the new stadium became official, they have had their sights set on this particular off-season.

Outside of some of the obvious ones, some names to keep an eye on that may be on the move this offseason..

Ed Oliver
Ray Davis
Terrell Bernard
Taron Johnson (release)

-The ‘25 trade deadline. Jaylen Waddle edition.

It was reported that the Bills offered a 2027 1st rd pick and a 2026 3rd for Waddle at the deadline. It was also reported the Bills offer was easily the highest. Supposedly Miami balked and wanted a 2026 1st instead. And supposedly, the Bills balked at that. Yeah. Maybe.

Or maybe the Dolphins didn’t want to hand over their very best player, a WR nonetheless, to the guy that has absolutely dominated them since he came into the league. Allen has a career record of 14-3 against them and you’re going to hand him your lightning fast 27yr old WR? The one thing every football person on earth says his lack of holds him back from being even better than he already is?

So let me get this straight. Josh Allen OWNS the Dolphins. He is the bane of Dolphins fans existence. And they have to watch Allen throw rainbow TD passes over their heads to their formerly best player twice a year. Do I have that right?

Grow up. The Bills called and regardless of any negotiations, unless the Bills offered something extremely stupid, the answer was no.

Quick view into how that call would have went if I were the Dolphins GM:

Bills: hey were calling about Waddle

Me: *click*

Ps… oh Garrett Wilson? Minus a detail or 2, exact same story. It isn’t even close to anything new for a team in your own division to tell you to take a long walk off a short pier when you’re asking about one of their players. Much less their very best one. Now we’re acting brand new?

By the way, Beane got killed for signing Brandin Cooks. And sure, Cooks may have a had a few drops sprinkled in early but that dude was running wide ass open constantly. Downfield, I might add. I’ve got clips of those too for anyone who may be interested. And don’t even get me started about the catch/INT in Denver.

The same people screaming from the mountain tops that Brandin Cooks made that catch and that we got screwed by the refs are the same people killing Beane for not getting Allen any WR’s. So if the refs get that call right and the Bills go on to win, we’re in the AFC title game in New England. Largely on the strength of a big play made by none other than Brandin Cooks. Are we still mad at Beane for apparently not getting any WR’s? What exactly is the shelf life on that argument?

Folks Im not interested in headlines and hot takes. I search for context. How did we get here? What series of events led us to this point?

-One last nugget before I go..

The search for the new head coach

To the portion of people out there trying to make a huge deal about Josh Allen being part of the process. I ask, why wouldn’t he be a part of the process? Seriously, all things considered, I feel like it would be foolish to NOT include him in it. Let’s be clear, Allen isn’t making the final decision or conducting the interview. He’s there for input that is used as a piece of the puzzle. And I ask again, why on earth would you not want that?

Outside of the obvious of getting a general feel for one another, things get discussed. I’m comfortable with these plays/routes/concepts, I struggle with these. I feel like I can improve on these. I feel like we left some things out there on these. I feel like we can really exploit teams with these, etc, etc. The interviewee offers his thoughts on those subjects in comparison to what he brings to the table. What he’s trying to accomplish. What he can do to elevate Allen’s game. Why would you not want that back and forth when interviewing the man that will be most connected with 17 for the foreseeable future? I’ve gotta say, that feels downright negligent to me to not include Allen in this process.

On the subject of who they’re interviewing, to me, nothing more than dotting all the i’s and crossing all the t’s. Due diligence to the max. At some point Brandon Beane will sit up there and say something along the lines of, “We’ve conducted an extensive search. We’ve cast our net far and wide”. And you know what? As they should. I can just hear some people out there now if they didn’t and hired the 2nd guy they interviewed. “Oh you didn’t even interview such and such?! Fire Beane!”

It’s a lose-lose in emotion season, apparently. Lets discuss.

Go Bills.

Keon Coleman and the Spider Man meme blame game.

It was his pick! No it was his pick!

Some context..

From an article on 8/30/24..

“The 20-year-old (Coleman) said he received a text from Allen on Friday, before he was drafted that said (via the team's official website), "You're the guy that I want. I watched a lot of receivers and I want to play with you”

You can read that article here:

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/josh-allen-pumped-bills-took-keon-coleman-qb-texted-wr-before-draft-youre-the-guy-that-i-want/

The Bills traded Stefon Diggs to Houston on April 3rd, 2024. It had been trending in the direction for quite some time but with this move, the Bills officially handed the keys over to Josh Allen. The biggest voice in the locker room is now gone. This team is yours 17.

So moving on from the diva WR the Bills acted fast and drafted Keon Coleman to fill that hole in the 2nd rd just 23 days after the Diggs trade.

So when it comes to who exactly is responsible for the Coleman pick, we’ll never truly now. But for now, why dont we all agree that everyone, and I mean everyone was involved in Keon’s selection.

Am I the only one that thinks the Bills moved on from Diggs, handed Allen the keys and said we’re gonna get you a WR, any thoughts? Josh pushed for Keon Coleman. They all discussed Keon together. We’ll never know who had the biggest voice. But the very last thing on planet earth Pegula & Beane were gonna do was sit up there and blame Josh Allen. They would blame me for that pick before they blamed Allen. And thats exactly how it looked as Pegula fumbled around, Beane letting him speak before ultimately taking it on the chin saying it was his pick.

And heres the thing about Coleman. I dont think he’s a bad player. I don’t think he cant have a good career in that league. I think he was the wrong WR (stylistically) for them to draft at that time but folks its done and here we are.

Here’s the best part. One of 2 things is going to happen.

They trade him and he’s removed from the equation. Personally I can see him thrown in as a pot sweetener on a bigger trade.

Bills fans, well football fans in general after that circus, are about to see what that kid is made of. To a certain point I give him the benefit of the doubt. He’s 22yrs old and not all people are wired the same. Regardless of your profession, some humans just get it quicker than others. Thats just life. That said, that time is up. Bottom line, after being called out by the team’s owner on national media, if he stays with Buffalo and he’s late one time. Half ass route even one time. Right then we’ll have our answer. Does any of this light a fire?

Keon- do you f***ing love this game or not?

Go Bills.

3rd and final part coming tonight.

Josh Allen 'pumped' Bills took Keon Coleman; QB texted WR before draft: 'You're the guy that I want' Coleman said he wanted to play with Allen as well

**It should be noted that I was minutes away from posting this and the Joe Brady news broke. The following is a big piece Ive been working that I’ve broken down into 3 parts that will be posted throughout the day. We’ll get to Joe Brady later. Anyone else feel like they got on a roller coaster and the minute it started going up the 1st hill the park staff walked off and left the coaster running? **

Part 1:

Emotional SZN

I get it. People are emotional right now. And to a degree, understandably so. Emotional about getting bounced from the playoffs again. Emotional about the refs. Emotional about the coach getting fired and the ensuing circus of a press conference. But I can’t take it anymore. When this all was happening I put a pause on the Brandon Beane talk. Let me just let this all unfold, I thought. And since then I’ve been doing nothing but wading through an endless sea of dog s**t narratives propped by toothpicks. Here we go..

Some thoughts on Terry Pegula, the press conference, Keon Coleman, and Brandon Beane.

-Terry Pegula

I keep seeing folks talking about how Pegula isn’t a polished public speaker. Fair enough. But to me it was much simpler that.

To me he sounded like a 74yr old pi**ed off multi billionaire that had had enough. For a variety of reasons. Good, bad or indifferent, regardless how we feel about it personally, Terry was gonna let it rip.

Oh I’m sure that little voice of the PR people him and Beane sat down with shortly before that thing was rattling around up there. But it all came unraveled and Terry could care less. I’m the billionaire in the room and it’s my team. Deal with it.

My team just got eliminated. Again. Officiating an issue, again. I gotta fire the head coach that brought us here. All of the sudden the same people that have been lighting up the intrawebs clamoring for McDermott to get fired, are now apparently his biggest supporters. 13 seconds is apparently no longer a concern. Oh and my GM (that also very much got us here) is being called a snake, piece of s**t.

Oh what a tangled web we weave in emotional season.

Terry was gonna get some things off his chest and he didn’t give a s**t about the optics.

One specific I will touch on. The decision. Imo, there is no chance in hell he made that decision right then. It had been on his mind like it was on the minds of basically everyone. Fans, media and Im quite sure Sean McDermott himself. He walked in that locker room after the Denver game and looked around. He got absolutely no response from Josh Allen and that was the nail in the coffin. There is NO chance he made that decision right then, based on that one moment. None.

*Side note: Personally, the stuff we got to see immediate postgame, did look very different from yrs past. Just saying.

Go Bills.

Part 2 coming later today.

I'm working on a Brandon Beane piece that I’m certain to catch hell for. But hey, if I do anything on this page, I’m gonna shoot you straight.

I’ve got a list of points a mile long that I’m trying to chop down, and quite frankly, I’m still trying to process all this. A part of my brain was ready for the season to be over so the kid could get his damn heart rate down.

No sir.

So, all that said, I’m gonna wait until after tomorrow’s press conference before I finish the Beane piece. I can only imagine what Beane & Pegula are going to say.

In the meantime, here's a topic I was planning to get to, and it's a quick one.

The refs

Straight to it. I just don’t care anymore. As sad as this may be, I’ve truly grown numb to it, and I couldn’t be more serious. I just refuse to keep kicking myself in the nuts over something that doesn’t change.

Think about it, you go to work, you’re on the group chat, watching TV, scrolling, whatever. Everywhere you look, we’re having the exact same discussion year after year after year. This isn’t a random occurrence anymore. It happens all the time to all sorts of teams. If the game is close, the threat of a flag hangs over your head at all times and it sucks. Especially in Dec and Jan.

Nothing changes. Ever.

And it's going to stay that way. The NFL gives you exactly 2 options.

Deal with it

Take a hike

Literally, your only choice is to either accept it or abandon the team you’ve loved your whole life. That most of us have some super sentimental reason for. Good luck with that.

Putrid, cheating-level officiating has woven itself into the game we love, and it's not changing anytime soon. In the moment, I'm upset like anyone else. But I refuse to allow that madness to ruin even one second of my day. I'm thinking about the team.

NFL, disrespectfully, f**k you. You disgust me.

Go Bills.

Ps. It’s being reported that the NFL made $23 BILLION in revenue in 2025.

One. Calendar. Year.

I’ve been writing about the Bills all season. Haven’t posted a single word of it. Not once. The reasons for that are a story for another day but here I am this morning settling in to get some things off my chest. Season’s over, here are a handful of thoughts-type post. No sooner than I get literally 3 sentences in, Bills Mafia cell phones blew up in unison.

🚨Breaking news! 🚨

Bills fire head coach Sean McDermott

Welp, he was on the list, but I guess I’ll get right to it.

The hottest of topics when it comes to the Bills. And boy has it been a roller coaster for me.

I’m no stranger to questioning whether or not Sean McDermott is the right man for the job. He resurrected the organization as a whole, masterfully. But can he get us over the top?

The included pic is from a piece I wrote on Up North Hustle just after the conclusion of the ‘22 season.

But here’s the thing, since then, personally, I’ve seen growth in McDermott. And I know damn sure I’m not the only one. I see growth on the field and off. As a coach and as a human being.

How so, you ask? Some quick points to keep this brief:

Plenty of layers here, but anyone see the difference in approach between the above playoff games, and the ‘24 & ‘25 playoffs? Let me throw a few at you...

-uber aggressive on 4th down. Including 4 for 6 in the ‘24 playoff loss to KC.

-playing for TD’s, not field goals (3 for 3 in the redzone in that same game)

-on defense, not sitting back. Attacking frequently with a slew of exotic blitzes. Playing the aggressor.

The difference is stark and undeniable.

When did it all start?

-In the 2023 season McD had to fire OC Ken Dorsey after an ugly week 10 loss to Denver at home, dropping their record to 5-5. McDermott himself was on the ropes a bit.

-Roughly 1 month later, 3 days before the KC regular season match up, the Tyler Dunne hit piece came out. A full-scale attack on McDermott questioning everything from leadership to character and everything else on down. IMO like McD or not, the article was a huge pile of dog s**t, but who the hell am I?

Regardless, I think it cut McDermott deep. We saw raw emotion out of him that week that we hadn’t yet seen. For the 1st time, he appeared vulnerable and human.

The Bills went on to win 7 out of 8 that yr. Win the division before eventually losing to KC in the divisional round.

That next season, (2024) the slow change in him was in full swing. No longer just the sturdy architect and leader, he became more human. Through that, he became the aggressor.

Listen, I’m not here to say I agree with everything McDermott says/does. I certainly do not. Newsflash, no matter who they put in there neither me or you ever will. But for me, the improvement is undeniable.

But was it too little too late?

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have lingering concerns that perhaps his message had gone stale in the locker room. Improvements or not, it’s not an uncommon thing when a coach has been in place for an extended period of time.

Eventually, that same ra-ra in the room gets tiresome, especially when struggling to get over the top. Players can still love the guy as a person while simultaneously side eyeing the guy in the locker next to him like, “…oh here he go again…”. Keep in mind we’re talking about mostly 20 somethings mixed with experienced vets that have heard it all before.

The thing that stuck out to me most is how obviously unprepared to play the team was in an assortment of games over the past few seasons. This very much includes Josh Allen. To me, this falls on the head coach.

My motto in recent yrs has become if the Bills actually show up and play their game, nobody scares me. No one. Regardless of the roster and perceived issues, if that team shows up from jump you’re in deep s**t.

Therein lies the problem. The fact remains that seemingly more and more, they don’t. And I repeat, that includes 17.

For context, they just turned the ball over 5 times on the road. In the playoffs. 2 days ago.

I give McDermott all the credit in the world for his growth. Coming from a guy that was once at his wits end with him, I respect the hell out of a man that goes against everything he knows for the good of the team. As in, “Maybe I’m wrong. What can I do better?”

But was it all too little too late inside that locker room? As I sit here writing this, reports are coming out in real time that look as if the locker room is none too pleased with the firing so far.

One thing I do know. Making this change at this point is a HUGE roll of the dice. Not at all saying they won’t get it right. I for one have complete trust in Brandon Beane. (We’ll get to him later)

Beane may now be the President of football ops, but I doubt very much owner Terry Pegula won’t have a say in the hiring of the new coach as they enter his new $2+ billion stadium.

If they get this hire wrong, it’s the exact type of thing that opens the door for your very best players to start asking out of town.

Your move, Mr. Pegula.

Go Bills.