The Buffalo Sabres find themselves in a spot they might not have planned in.

The Sabres are a playoff contender. And with how hot they’ve been over the past couple months, they’re a team no one would want to have to beat in a postseason series right now.

That has made the roster value of Alex Tuch quite a fascinating ride.

If Buffalo was struggling right now, he’d be an obvious trade candidate. As a veteran on a young team, Tuch would be sent away for future assets just like many in Buffalo have been before him.

The Sabres have missed the playoffs 14 seasons in a row, so they know what it’s like to be sellers at the trade deadline.

But now they’re in the hunt, and that changes things.

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Tuch could still be a trade candidate because he’s on an expiring contract. The Sabres wouldn’t necessarily want to lose him at the end of the season to unrestricted free agency for nothing.

That ignores the fact that Tuch could want to re-sign in Buffalo, of course.

And it’s made trickier by the fact that Tuch is a key forward and leader for the Sabres as they try to end the long drought.

NHL insider Elliotte Friedman pointed out the rather obvious on his 32 Thoughts podcast: “What I’ve heard about the Sabres is they’re not gonna make their team worse.”

While it sounds obvious, what he’s really saying is Buffalo doesn’t want to subtract from its present talent with the future in mind.

If Tuch could be moved for someone the Sabres believed helped them just as much this season, then maybe they’d do it.

But that doesn’t seem to be the kind of deal another team would be willing to make. With that in mind, Tuch may end up staying put.

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