The Buffalo Sabres front office, led by new general manager Jarmo Kekalainen, has less than three months to determine whether Alex Tuch can be signed to a contract extension or if the veteran winger will have to get moved ahead of the 2026 NHL trade deadline in March.
Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported the latest update on the long-running saga Tuesday on the 32 Thoughts Podcast, saying the "two sides haven't been close" while Kevyn Adams was GM.
"Like it basically came down to, from what I've heard, if we wanna sign Tuch we have to make some tough decisions everywhere else," Friedman said. "And were they willing to do that? And the [Jeff] Skinner buyout money I think is part of that. So, we'll see how Kekalainen feels about that."
Skinner signed an eight-year, $72 million extension with the Sabres in June 2019. Buffalo bought him out in June 2024, leaving dead-cap hits on the team's salary sheet through 2029-30. Those peak next season at $6.4 million before dropping to $2.4 million for the next three years, per PuckPedia.
That's a meaningful chunk of next year's financial resources tied up in a player scoring goals for a different team, and it certainly creates an issue when trying to figure out whether the Blue and Gold can pay Tuch the salary of $10 million or more he's seeking.
Buffalo Sabres' past mistakes put new GM Jarmo Kekalainen immediately behind the eight ball
Kekalainen isn't stepping into a situation where there's a fresh slate with endless possibilities about how the franchise can move forward.
Along with the Skinner buyout money, the Sabres are paying underperforming, injury-prone winger Jordan Greenway $4 million through next season and struggling goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen $4.75 million through 2028-29.
Jack Quinn ($3.375 million) and Bowen Byram ($6.25 million) are other players being overpaid relative to their on-ice impact, and there are still questions about whether 2021 first overall pick Owen Power ($8.35 million) is a true organizational cornerstone.
That's a lot of the cap tied up in less-than-optimal ways for Buffalo.
In addition, the Sabres' roster features four restricted free agents who almost surely figure into the club's long-term plans: Zach Benson, Josh Doan, Isak Rosen and Michael Kesselring.
So, there are a lot of moving pieces for Kekalainen to juggle while trying to determine whether paying Tuch a double-digit AAV is the right path to travel.
Tuch, who was born in Syracuse and grew up rooting for the Sabres, is a fan favorite and plays a two-way game that would be sorely missed. In a perfect world, he'd be re-signed and the team could still retain all of its other key pieces.
It's tough to say whether that's possible, however, especially because Buffalo hasn't typically spent all the way to the cap in recent years.
Kekalainen may instead find himself in a situation where trading Tuch is the first massive move of his GM tenure, and getting it right will be critical because the franchise is trying to avoid another scorched-earth rebuild amid a 14-year playoff drought.
It'll be one of the NHL's most fascinating stories to follow between now and March.