Insider Provides Ominous Update On Sabres & Alex Tuch Talks

Alex Tuch, Buffalo Sabres forward, during pregame warmup

After so many top NHL pending unrestricted free agents have re-upped with their teams, Alex Tuch stands to be one of the biggest names available if he makes it to UFA status. And after so many of those aforementioned extensions came in in the $10M to $12M AAV range, Tuch knows what his value would be on the open market as one of the lone top guns.

But it doesn't sound like the Buffalo Sabres are reading the room. Per insider Pierre LeBrun in The Athletic, they haven't gotten the memo, and there's still a sizeable gap in talks with Tuch.

Adrian Kempe’s extension this week further clarified the evolving forward market for UFAs. The next man up on that dwindling pending UFA list is Alex Tuch.
My understanding is that there remains a sizeable gap in positions in those talks. Which is to say I don’t think Buffalo has gone to double digits on the AAV yet. And I mean, who’s to say if the Sabres ultimately will?
Neither side has shut down talks, though, and both are willing to pick up the conversation at any time. For now, those talks are status quo.

Kempe was seen as one of the top pending UFAs remaining, perhaps aside from the New York Rangers' Artemi Panarin. Kempe re-signed with the Los Angeles Kings for a stipend of $10.625 million annually on an eight-year deal. And that was seen in some circles as "team-friendly."

That followed the Martin Necas signing with the Colorado Avalanche for an $11.5 million AAV, and a Logan Cooley extension with the Utah Mammoth at a $10 million cap hit. If the Sabres think they can get away with re-signing Tuch at something in the $9s, they're in for a rude awakening.

One insider told us last month that the ask will be much closer to $12M than anything in single digits.

Tuch will be in big demand if he makes it to free agency

No matter how you feel about Tuch's true value, the fact that he would be one of the top two available forwards on the open market (with Panarin), would boost his asking price considerably.

Tuch is a skilled two-way forward who excels at even strength and on special teams. He produces solid plus/minus numbers as well as blocked shots and takeaways at an elite level on the defensive end, and has registered 36 goals in two of the previous three seasons.

The 29-year-old is off to another fine start this year, with seven goals and 16 points in 20 games. Given the comps and the rarity of high-end UFAs remaining for next summer, it's a virtual lock that he will earn over the $10 million AAV mark on his next contract. The Sabres had better come to grips with it, or they'll lose him in free agency.