The Buffalo Sabres enter a busy week as host of the 2026 NHL Draft at Key Bank Center, but the organization has their own internal business to reckon with, as veteran winger Alex Tuch is poised to be hit the open market of free agency on July 1, and defenseman Bowen Byram’s contract situation is putting the blueliner’s name in the mix for a possible trade. 

The 30-year-old winger and the Sabres have reportedly not made any progress on a contract extension, but that has been the case since Tuch became eligible to sign a new deal last July. According to various reports, the winger’s representatives are looking for a deal in excess of $10 million per season, while Buffalo is holding firm on a number significantly less. 

With the sign-and-trade of Tampa defenseman Darren Raddysh with the Toronto Maple Leafs last week, Tuch is at the top of the free agent list and it is expected that he will be able to find a club that will match his asking price. On the latest 32 Thoughts podcast, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman speculated that the Seattle Kraken have been big game hunting and missed out on Artemi Panarin before being traded to Los Angeles, and indicated that if Tuch hits the open market, they will be among a number of clubs in hot pursuit.

It is possible that the Sabres will follow the Lightning’s example of a sign-and-trade if they cannot or are not interested in signing Tuch, to get a draft pick.

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Byram is in the second year of a two-year, $12.5 million bridge deal and Buffalo GM Jarmo Kekalainen indicated last month that he is interested in extending the 25-year-old, coming off a career-high 42-point season. Unless there is a change in the standard operating procedure of agent Darren Ferris, the Sabres blueliner is likely to play out his deal with the Sabres and hit the open market as a 26-year-old. 

A trade is a distinct possibility, but the return for Byram is mitigated by the fact that he does not intend on signing an extension no matter where he is dealt. With the likelihood of getting the usual return for a high-end rental (a first round pick and prospect) in the final year of his contract, the Sabres may opt to keep the blueliner through next season, as they did with Tuch, but that would allow two valuable assets to leave via free agency in consecutive seasons without any kind of return. 

According to TSN’s Darren Dreger, the Sabres are exploring various trade scenarios and are circling back on Tuch to see if an extension is possible. The Sabres have just under $12 million in available cap space entering the summer, but if they move Byram for future assets, that would clear an additional $6.25 million, which might allow Kekalainen to re-sign the veteran winger and extend young forward Zach Benson.  

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