The Buffalo Sabres have a bad habit of trading elite NHL players and then watching them win a championship with their new team. If that story is retold, only this time with Alex Tuch helping lead the Toronto Maple Leafs to a Stanley Cup, it would be the ultimate sin.
Adam Gretz of Bleacher Report listed the Leafs as one of the top five potential landing spots for Tuch, who's become the subject of trade rumors amid stalled talks about a contract extension amid the final year of his current deal with Buffalo.
Brian Bartlett, the 29-year-old winger's agent, recently told Irfaan Gaffar and David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period the sides have put extension discussions on the "back burner," though he noted both sides still remain interested in getting something done eventually.
The Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, New York Rangers and Winnipeg Jets were the other possible Tuch suitors listed by Gretz.
Trading Alex Tuch to the Toronto Maple Leafs would be the last straw for a lot of Buffalo Sabres fans
The Sabres possess one of the best fanbases in North American sports. They've remained loyal to the crest despite a 14-year playoff drought, which is the longest such streak in NHL history.
Yet, everybody has a breaking point, and watching Tuch succeed with the Leafs would likely mark that moment for many hockey fans in Western New York.
Tuch is everything Buffalo general manager Kevyn Adams has preached about building his roster around over the past six years. He was born a few hours down the thruway in Syracuse and grew up rooting for the Sabres.
Before the season, the 6-foot-4 forward expressed his desire to sign an extension.
"Everyone in here knows I love Buffalo. I love being a Buffalo Sabre and I would love to be here long term," Tuch told reporters in September.
Yet, the tea leaves suggest the Sabres, led by Adams and team owner Terry Pegula, are struggling to accept the financial realities of a rising salary cap.
Tuch is likely going to command a salary of at least $10 million annually. If Buffalo doesn't want to pay him, a Cup contender would surely be interested in signing one of the league's best two-way players.
Last season, the 2014 first-round pick set a new NHL record for a forward by blocking 113 shots. He also recorded 67 points (36 goals and 31 assists) and scored a league-high six shorthanded goals. On top of it all, he also served in a leadership role for the Sabres.
Buffalo will have little choice but to explore trade options if Tuch isn't re-signed before the 2026 trade deadline in March. Watching him enter free agency without getting any assets in return would be an absolute disaster for Adams' front office.
Yet, Sabres supporters would probably prefer to stomach that atrocious outcome rather than seeing Tuch skating around the ice with the Cup in his hands while wearing a Maple Leafs jersey. That's the epitome of nightmare fuel.
Haven't Buffalo sports fans endured enough nightmares?