On his podcast, 32 Thoughts, Elliotte Friedman shared what the ultimate price would be to keep Alex Tuch with the Buffalo Sabres, and it's a steep one. While he acknowledged the possibility of a hometown discount, Friedman put the annual cap hit into the eight-figure range, saying, "So, if you're Buffalo, and if Tuch is willing to say, 'hey, I'm from the area, I'm willing to give you a little less,' you're in that $11.5 (million) area."
Maybe Tuch will take the hometown discount, but since coming to Buffalo in November 2021, he has played in 292 games, putting up 254 points and 110 goals. Those are more than just solid numbers. He's also a staple on the power play and penalty kill, and there's a strong likelihood he's raring to get back into the playoffs, something that has never happened during his time with the Sabres. He might just be the best player left in the 2026 free-agent class.
Contrast his lack of playoff appearances with that of the Vegas Golden Knights, where he played in 66 postseason games between 2018 and 2021. It's hard to argue that Tuch doesn't deserve something in the annual range of eight figures, especially with Martin Necas, Logan Cooley, and Thomas Harley hitting that number. All three of them also signed on for eight years.
Keeping Alex Tuch in a Buffalo Sabres uniform won't be easy
If the Sabres were trending north as a franchise instead of lingering in perpetual stagnation, it wouldn't be hard to keep Tuch around with a hometown discount, which would put the potential asking price south of Friedman's $11.5 million.
That's the case with Logan Cooley in Utah, where the Mammoth are looking like the next group of contenders in the Central Division. Or, in the case of Thomas Harley and Martin Necas, they're both playing for contenders, so signing the dotted line was an easy decision for them as long as there was enough cap space.
Still, staying in Buffalo long-term would solidify Tuch as a franchise cornerstone alongside the likes of Tage Thompson and Rasmus Dahlin, two star players who also spent years doing the thankless job of keeping the Sabres in games. Tuch staying in town would also give the Sabres more legitimacy, as he would be yet another good player guaranteed to be there for a while, giving the Sabres more stability.
Transforming the culture in Buffalo would all but guarantee Tuch signs an extension
If the Sabres could string together more than just a winning season in 2025-26, it would make Tuch's decision a lot easier, and maybe he wouldn't test the market. Breaking the playoff drought would be the ultimate grand slam, but even a narrow miss may be enough to convince Tuch that the Sabres' drought is nearing its end.
In an ideal case, he would take the hometown discount if the Blue and Gold missed out by a point or two, at worst. It would also create a greater sense of urgency as opposed to what fans saw in 2023 when the Sabres missed the postseason by a point but failed to capitalize.
This means it would be, in a way, up to the Sabres to convince Tuch to sign that deal, either at a discount or full price. One thing is for certain: Tuch's individual performance warrants that $11.5 million price tag Friedman laid out, but the team has got to get consistent and keep up with it.