The contractThe Washington Capitals signed forward Alex Tuch to an eight-year deal with a $10.5 million AAV.All signs pointed toward Tuch cashing in this summer. That is the benefit of being one of the few top-six wingers left standing ahead of free agency, after players such as Kyle Connor, Martin Necas, Artemi Panarin and Adrian Kempe signed extensions early. Pair the shallow market with trends set by those wingers to sign for $10-plus million and the growing cap, and it set up the perfect storm for Tuch.A $10.5 million AAV over eight years makes a ton of sense given the context around the situation. But it doesn’t make it any less risky because he’s already 30 years old and age-related declines come for everyone.In so many ways, Tuch is an intriguing fit for the Capitals. With or without Alex Ovechkin, Washington needed to punch up its forward group and add another layer of scoring to go from a team with some solid pieces to a true contender. Ideally, those forwards would bring the rush-based skill that this team has been missing outside of Aliaksei Protas. In Jordan Kyrou and Tuch, the Capitals add exactly that: Two forwards who bring a lot of speed and can do damage in transition.