There is mutual desire between the Buffalo Sabres and forward Alex Tuch to reach a long-term extension, according to TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun.
However, as LeBrun wrote in The Athletic in a story posted Wednesday, those talks haven’t gone very far.
LeBrun reports Tuch and the Buffalo Sabres “aren’t in the same ballpark” thus far regarding his next deal with the NHL’s salary cap projected to steadily rise in the coming years.
“I would imagine Tuch’s camp sees a double-digit AAV as realistic in that world,” writes LeBrun, who adds that the market is even harder to define for players approaching free agency given a handful of top-of-market pending unrestricted free agents who have yet to reach extensions, including Connor McDavid, Kirill Kaprizov and Jack Eichel.
The 29-year-old Tuch is entering the final season of a seven-year, $33.25 million contract that carries a cap hit of $4.75 million. Tuch signed the deal as a member of the Vegas Golden Knights before being traded to Buffalo in November of 2021 in a deal that sent Eichel to Vegas.
LeBrun notes that a Eichel signing – or a signing of a player like Los Angeles Kings forward Adrian Kempe, who also enters the season as a pending UFA – could bring Tuch and the Sabres to the bargaining table with a better idea of the current market. LeBrun adds he feels Tuch and Kempe may eventually end up with similar deals and points out there is still plenty of time for things to get done.
“I think [Tuch’s contract] gets done eventually. But I don’t think it’s imminent,” LeBrun writes.
A two-time 30-goal scorer, Tuch is coming off one of his best offensive seasons in 2024-25, matching his career-high with 36 goals and 31 assists for 67 points in 82 games. His 36 goals were second only to Tage Thompson’s 44 on the Sabres and Tuch also finished a team-high plus-16.
In a total of 536 career NHL regular season games spread out over nine seasons, Tuch has 167 goals and 215 assists for 382 points.