After Buffalo Sabres GM Jarmo Kekalainen indicated in his availability at Highmark Stadium on Wednesday that winger Alex Tuch was headed to free agency on July 1, and included the possibility of a sign-and-trade, it seemed only a matter of time that the 30-year-old winger would be moved. 

“I think he's moving on and getting into free agency, and now there are options, whether it's a sign-and-trade,” Kekalainen said.  “We used him as a rental for our own team. We made it clear to him that we wanted to sign him.”  

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman and The Athletic’s Pierre Lebrun report that the Sabres have signed Tuch to an eight-year, $84 million deal ($10.5 million AAV) and traded him to the Washington Capitals for a third-round pick.

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The sign-and-trade is comparable to the deal between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning involving defenseman Darren Raddysh, with the Leafs giving the Lightning a fifth round pick to sign the blueliner to an eight-year deal. Tuch was at the top of the free agent list and was expected that he will be able to find a club that will match his asking price, which was in the same neighborhood as Adrian Kempe’s $10.625 million deal with the LA Kings signing during the season. 

Washington in the span of two days have added winger Jordan Kyrou in a trade with the St. Louis Blues and Tuch, which will serve to bolster their offense in the wake of the possible departure of Alex Ovechkin this summer or after next season. Buffalo now has lost Bowen Byram on the blueline and a 30-goal scoring winger in Tuch, which puts Kekalainen in a position of needing to find replacements if he hopes to stay in the playoff mix next season.  

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