The Alex Tuch situation continues to hover above the Buffalo Sabres as general manager Jarmo Kekalainen must decide whether to meet the impending unrestricted free agent's asking price (~$10.5 million per season), trade him or keep the winger as an "own rental."
Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported Tuesday the Sabres were telling rival front offices "we're not making our team worse." The NHL insider said on Friday's edition of the 32 Thoughts podcast that remark led to a lot of feedback from his sources, including one who called it the "dumbest comment you've ever made."
Friedman then attempted to clear up his reporting on Tuch and the Sabres, who he noted are "still not close" on a long-term contract extension despite continued conversations.
"The general rule in that particular case is if you can't sign him by the trade deadline, you trade him. You don't lose him for nothing," Friedman said. "But sometimes you have to turn the conventional wisdom on its head. You're at a point in your organization where — I know they had a bad game on Thursday night when they lost to Pittsburgh — but generally they've been outstanding and they're very much in the race.
"Your fans are energized for the first time in 15 years. Your players are energized. Everything's going well. You go for it. That's a point where you throw out the conventional wisdom and you say, 'You know what? We need this for our fans. We need this for our city. We need this for our organization.'"
In short, the point Friedman was trying to make originally is the Sabres have signaled to opposing teams they aren't going to trade Tuch for futures, whether it be draft picks or prospects, and hurt their chances of making the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the process.
Buffalo is acting like a buyer, not a seller as its been for over a decade, leading up to the 2026 NHL trade deadline on March 6.
Buffalo Sabres have a growing list of needs ahead of the trade deadline, and moving Alex Tuch would create another one
The Sabres are no longer the NHL's hottest team. They lost three of their last four games before the league's break for the 2026 Winter Olympics, and an ever-growing injury list suggests the three weeks off come at a perfect time for the unexpected Eastern Conference contenders.
Meanwhile, the recent cold spell signals to Kekalainen that roster upgrades are necessary if Buffalo is going to break the longest playoff drought in league history.
The most pressing needs have become painfully obvious in recent weeks.
The Sabres need an offensive-minded, top-six forward who can provide scoring support for Tuch and Tage Thompson and boost a power play that is downright ugly to watch at times.
They could also use an infusion of defensive depth as Michael Kesselring, Zach Metsa and Jacob Bryson have struggled mightily while Conor Timmins has been sidelined by injury. It's forced head coach Lindy Ruff to play Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power, Mattias Samuelsson and Bowen Byram huge minutes on a nightly basis, and the fatigue is starting to show.
So, with Kekalainen already surveying the market to fill those holes (at minimum), it wouldn't make sense to trade Tuch for futures. It would weaken the current roster and finding a replacement in the immediate future would be difficult, if not impossible.
The only way a Tuch deal should enter the conversation is if a top-tier team is willing to make a "hockey trade," sending an established NHL player, preferably younger than the 29-year-old Syracuse native, under contract beyond this season to Western New York as the foundation of the swap.
Since that's unlikely, the best thing Buffalo can do is keep the 6-foot-4 power forward as an "own rental" and reassess the situation over the summer before he hits the open market.
Tuch is too vital to lose at this point in the campaign without someone to instantly fill the void his departure would create. He's recorded 48 points (22 goals and 26 assists) in 56 games and plays in all three phases for the Blue and Gold.
Ultimately, there are no perfect solutions currently available to Kekalainen, so all he can do is focus on trying to win now so postseason hockey can return to downtown Buffalo.