A lot of hockey's most influential people, including team executives and high-profile player agents, were in Western New York last week for the 2026 NHL Scouting Combine. The event came and went without a contract extension for Buffalo Sabres star Alex Tuch.
Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet provided the latest update on the tenuous situation Wednesday on the newest installment of the 32 Thoughts podcast.
"The word at the combine, and I heard from a couple different people, is that there hadn't been a lot of movement. That there's still a gap," Friedman said. "Now, I had a couple people tell me he's definitely testing free agency and I said, 'Guys, I'm not going there because who knows what can happen.' There's still a couple weeks. Deadlines spur action."
Based on all the reporting over the past 12 months, it seems like the Sabres' offer started somewhere around $8 million per season when Kevyn Adams was leading the front office. Jarmo Kekalainen took over as general manager in December and may be comfortable around $9 million annually.
It's unlikely that'll be enough to retain Tuch, whose rumored asking price has remained relatively consistent around $10.5 million since last summer. There's been some talk the number could creep closer to an $11 million AAV because of this year's weak NHL free-agent market.
"You can always do it later, or closer to July 1st when everybody really shows their cards," Friedman said. "The one thing I definitely did hear is that there's still a gap. There's still work to be done there."
Tuch is coming off a 2025-26 season where he recorded 66 points (a perfectly balanced 33 goals and 33 assists) in 79 games to help the Sabres end their 14-year playoff drought. The 30-year-old Syracuse native will be the top UFA forward available if he does hit the open market next month.
Buffalo's tight salary-cap situation this summer, and the need to retain some financial flexibility to re-sign younger players like Zach Benson, Bowen Byram, Noah Ostlund, Jiri Kulich and Konsta Helenius in the coming years, will make it tough to meet Tuch's contract demands.
NHL insiders say Buffalo Sabres are "effectively priced out" of the Alex Tuch market
Another report released Wednesday from ESPN's Rachel Kryshak and Kristen Shilton noted talks between Tuch and the Sabres have "seemingly stalled out," in part because the winger so far doesn't seem interested in a shorter-term contract like some other big names signed in recent years.
""The difference for Tuch is that he's not on the same echelon as [Auston] Matthews or [Connor] McDavid and he's 30 years old," Kryshak and Shilton wrote. "This could well be his last opportunity to cash in on a significant contract (of up to seven seasons). If Tuch truly believes $10 million per year is a possibility, then the Sabres are effectively priced out."
Buffalo just doesn't have the money in the immediate future barring a series of other moves.
The Sabres enter the offseason with only $11.9 million in available space (via PuckPedia) and that's based on a roster without a reserve defenseman. That puts the actual number closer to $11 million.
Re-signing Tuch at his desired number would leave Kekalainen with essentially no money for the summer, and this isn't the NFL where you can just restructure some contracts to create space.
Buffalo has eight other internal free agents to consider — UFAs Beck Malenstyn, Logan Stanley, Luke Schenn, Josh Dunne and Tanner Pearson as well as RFAs Benson, Peyton Krebs and Michael Kesselring — and could also use a high-profile trade to acquire a legit No. 1 center.
Keeping Tuch likely takes that blockbuster trade option completely off the table this year (unless another team is willing to absorb Josh Norris' nearly $8 million cap hit), and the Sabres would still struggle to retain Malenstyn while trying to give Benson a long-term contract.
The financial outlook does improve for the 2027 offseason and beyond, when the Jeff Skinner dead-cap hit becomes reduced and the salary cap rises, but this summer is a tricky to navigate.
It's easier to figure out a path forward if Tuch isn't retained, but he'll obviously leave a sizable two-way void on the roster that the likes of Benson, Ostlund and Josh Doan will be asked to fill.
There simply isn't a perfect solution available to Kekalainen and the Sabres front office.
Add us as a preferred source on Google