The Buffalo Sabres spent the past 12 months trying to reach an agreement with Alex Tuch on a long-term contract extension. That quest ended Wednesday when the veteran winger was sent to the Washington Capitals as part of a sign-and-trade agreement.
Buffalo received a 2027 third-round draft pick and forward David Kampf in exchange for Tuch, who was scheduled to become an NHL unrestricted free agent on July 1. He signed an eight-year, $84 million extension ($10.5 million AAV) as part of his move to the Caps. The trade came after general manager Jarmo Kekalainen made a final attempt to keep the three-time 30-goal scorer.
"The Sabres were never comfortable with that [contract] figure," NHL insider Pierre LeBrun reported on TSN's SportsCentre. "I will tell you this, I'm told that Buffalo in their last offer over the last couple days really moved up and they made a very strong offer to try and keep Alex Tuch. I believe it was a seven-year deal short of the $10.5 million. Either just under $10 million or around $10 million a year. So, a pretty strong offer, but still less than what Alex Tuch ended up with."
Kekalainen made a blockbuster trade Tuesday night, sending defenseman Bowen Byram and winger Jordan Greenway to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for the No. 4 overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, a second-round selection (No. 45) and blueliner Louis Crevier.
The Sabres created $9.35 million in salary-cap space with the deal, which raised questions about whether they were trying to create enough room for a Tuch extension.
In the end, Tuch was never willing to back off his contract demands. His rumored asking price was $10.5 million for pretty much the entirety of the past year, and that's exactly the number he received to complete his sign-and-trade arrival to Washington.
The 30-year-old power forward finishes his five-year run in Buffalo with 309 points (139 goals and 170 assists) across 360 appearances. His tenure ended on a low note, however, as he failed to record a point in the club's seven-game second-round playoff series against the Montreal Canadiens.
Jarmo Kekalainen played the Alex Tuch situation perfectly for the Buffalo Sabres
Make no mistake, losing Tuch is a short-term blow to the Sabres. He played a crucial two-way, three-phase role that nobody else on the roster is capable of completely filling. The replacement plan probably starts with more responsibilities for Zach Benson and Josh Doan, but there will be growing pains as those rising stars are asked to step up defensively.
That said, paying him $10.5 million per season until he's 38 years old never made sense.
Dom Luszczyszyn of The Athletic estimated Tuch's fair-market value on an eight-year extension at $7.5 million per year, even in a rising-cap environment. That's $24 million in excess value over the length of the contract.
There was also some suggestion the immediate lineup boost now would make the future issues worth it, but Luszczyszyn's model estimates the Boston College product will only provide around $8.7 million in on-ice value next season, making it an immediate overpay.
Tuch's apparent unwillingness to take less money to remain in Buffalo combined with the club's cap situation just didn't leave a path to an agreement.
Sure, Kekalainen could have sacrificed some more pieces and create some financial headaches down the road to make it happen, but that would have been a mistake.
The Sabres have a lot of young players on the rise who are going to need contracts in the coming years. It's a process that actually started shortly after the Tuch trade when they re-signed Benson to a seven-year, $52.5 million extension ($7.5 million AAV).
Konsta Helenius, Noah Ostlund and Jiri Kulich are future core members to re-sign in the next few seasons and Jack Quinn, who's a few years older at 24, will be a restricted free agent next summer.
So, maintaining some financial flexibility for those extensions as well as short-term roster upgrades — Buffalo is in the market for a top-six forward (ideally a first-line center), a second-pair defenseman and maybe a goalie this summer — was the smart route to take.
Now Kekalainen must prove he can use his new set of assets, headlined by the No. 4 pick in Friday night's draft, and the increased breathing room under the cap to upgrade the roster.
It's an important task because teams all around the Eastern Conference are loading up, including the Caps with the additions of Tuch and Jordan Kyrou, which is going to create a fierce battle for playoff spots during the 2026-27 campaign.
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