Stutzle has a cap hit of 8.35m for the next 7 seasons. Next three have no trade protection. Thompson has a cap hit of 7.14m for the next 6 seasons. His 5 team no trade protection kicks in next year.
Both had down seasons, and while there's an age gap, there's also a maturity gap. I doubt the difference in value would go far beyond the 1.2m in annual cap savings between both contracts, but if it did, Chabot v Power is likely far skewed in Ottawa's favour.
Anyhow, I bring this type of proposition up because Timmy has been singled out by Steve Staios as lacking maturity. He's a one way puck hog of a player that, while not soft, is clearly containable when the opposition plays him gritty. Watching the playoffs and the style of play that leads to series wins, I'm not sure he's that guy short of a major leap in play style and poise.
That's not to say Tage Thompson is the solution, but Buffalo could do with a shakeup to a squad in a historical playoff drought, and he could make Ottawa harder to play against. He may give up 10-20 assists a year on Timmy, but he's likely to outscore him by 10 goals each year, and make Ottawa's powerplay deadlier.
And come playoff time, I believe he'd outplay Timmy in a 7 game series. This team doesn't have a horse down the middle - in fact we have a collection of skilled, medium sized centres with wonky shoulders. A different look might not be a bad thing.
