The Buffalo Sabres are less than four months away from being forced into an extremely difficult decision related to winger Alex Tuch, an impending unrestricted free agent.
Buffalo, which is desperate to end a miserable 14-year playoff drought, likely won't be able to achieve that goal without Tuch, but general manager Kevyn Adams must weigh that against the fact the Blue and Gold can't afford to lose a high-end player to free agency for no return.
So, the NHL trade deadline in March looms large and, on Wednesday, Chris Johnston of The Athletic ranked Tuch as the third-best player on the trade market behind only Calgary Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson and Nashville Predators center Steven Stamkos.
"Tuch continues to produce offense at a rate that's going to get him paid," Johnston wrote. "He's a big, fast power forward with a proven ability to put the puck in the net."
The 29-year-old Syracuse native has recorded 16 points (seven goals and nine assists) across 19 appearances for the Sabres this season.
How will the Buffalo Sabres handle the franchise-altering Alex Tuch decision?
Adams made a push to sign Tuch to a contract extension before the 2025-26 NHL season got underway, but those efforts failed to yield an agreement.
Then Tuch's agent, Brian Bartlett, told Irfaan Gaffar and David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period the sides decided to put talks on the "back burner" after the regular season started.
"Alex is a leader on that team, both play-wise and kind of, you know, in the room," Bartlett said. "So he wants to focus on that, not have it a distraction, so we've wanted to just kind of let everyone know, like, we're just gonna put this on the back burner for a little bit — doesn't mean that we're closing the door to signing, doesn't mean anything, just means that, you know, for the time period, he's gotta try to help the Buffalo Sabres win games."
The problem for Buffalo, however, is that most of the other high-profile players originally ticketed to hit the open market next summer have signed new contracts with their current teams, led by the likes of the Edmonton Oilers' Connor McDavid and Vegas Golden Knights' Jack Eichel.
So, Tuch is quickly becoming one of the best (if not the best) players available next offseason, which means his asking price can continue to rise and, at least so far, there's been zero indication he's willing to give the Sabres a "hometown discount."
Of course, the Blue and Gold would love to sign the Team USA Olympic hopeful to a market-value contract before March, but that's far from a guarantee.
If an extension isn't in place by the deadline, Adams will probably have little choice beyond trading Tuch to the highest bidder. Allowing him to walk into free agency without getting any assets back would be a disaster, especially if the Sabres don't make the playoffs this season.
Buffalo should also let the 2014 first-round pick discuss an extension with interested teams if that's the case. A new long-term contract would help maximize the return value for Adams.
All told, the potential of a Tuch trade is a sad reality for Sabres fans. They thought he'd be a long-term fixture in the Sabres lineup after he arrived in the Eichel trade because of his ties to Western New York, but the business aspect of sports complicates all matters.
You can't blame Tuch for making the optimal financial decision for himself, just like you won't be able to blame Adams for trading the winger if March arrives without a new contract in place.
Buffalo fans will continue to hope for a different outcome, though.