With free agency just over three weeks away, the news surrounding Alex Tuch’s potential return to the Buffalo Sabres continues to grow bleaker. The two sides continue to try to work on an extension but it doesn't appear they are getting any closer.
On Friday, TSN's Darren Dreger was on First Up and mentioned that it looks like Tuch is likely heading to free agency. "It sure sounds fellas like there isn't progress being made between Buffalo and Alex Tuch. I am hearing that Tuch is likely going to free agency, but that isn't breaking news."
As Dreger notes, this isn't really that surprising and it has felt like Tuch going into free agency has always been the the most likely scenario. He is coming off another productive regular season with 66 points and is clearly the best potential free agent this summer.
Buffalo Sabres have already missed their window to sign Alex Tuch long-term
The contract negotiations have stretched all the way since last summer and started with Kevyn Adams and continued with Jarmo Kekalainen when he was named general manager in December. The Sabres' best chance to sign Tuch would have been before last season because, at that time, the free agent class looked much stronger with players like Adrian Kempe, Jack Eichel, Martin Necas, and Kirill Kaprizov.
Unfortunately, at the time, Kevyn Adams didn't really want to budge and not accept the reality that it was a rising salary cap and he was going to have to be over $10 million AAV.
Since then, almost all of the top players who were expected to be free agents have signed long-term deals, which only increases Tuch's negotiating power. On top of that, the reality of the situation is that the Sabres have limited cap space, while players like Zach Benson, who is a restricted free agent, have become the priority.
The Sabres are going to have to essentially choose, as they can't sign both while still being able to fill out the rest of the roster. When considering that Tuch doesn't have a deal, it sure sounds like that decision has been made, and Alex Tuch will be playing hockey somewhere else next season.
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