One of the items most asked of Buffalo Sabres GM Kevyn Adams at the opening of training camp on Wednesday was the status of contract negotiations with winger Alex Tuch. The 29-year-old became eligible for an extension on July 1, but when asked where talks stand between the club and the veteran winger’s representatives, Adams provided little information.
"Alex has been told very clearly by myself and the organization and how important he is to us. We want him here long term. The good news is that he's said the exact same thing about being here. He wants to be here. He's made it clear to me and to us, and we've had good, productive conversations with the Bartlett system."Adams said. "These things take time. We're gonna we're gonna work through it."
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The club is not in a position to wait and see on Tuch, who is in the final year of a seven-year, $33.25 million contract that he signed with the Vegas Golden Knights in 2018. The Syracuse, NY native was acquired as part of the Jack Eichel deal with Vegas in November 2021 and has 106 goals for the Sabres in 281 regular-season games, including a career-high 36 goals last season. The term on a potential deal would seemingly be the biggest hurdle, since Tuch will turn 30 before a new contract goes into effect.
"It would have been great (to get a deal done) in August, September, or October. That's great. but for him, it has to be a comfort level (that) this is the right time to do it." Adams said "We're gonna continue to talk to his agents here in the coming days and have some meetings lined up, and we'll keep working at it. I'm not going to put a deadline on it (to get a deal done before the season), I don't think that's really fair. I think it's just one of these things that he knows that he's a priority, and we just got to get it done."
Tuch is in a strong negotiating position, and with the salary cap going above $100 million, he is likely to ask for more than Tage Thompson’s $7.14 million AAV and perhaps even more than newcomer Josh Norris’s nearly $8 million salary. The question to be answered is whether the Sabres are looking for a shorter-term deal with a higher AAV or are willing to go long-term and spread the cap hit over a longer period of time.
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