Sabres Trade Deadline Disposition – Alex Tuch

The Buffalo Sabres have been rumored to be in the mix of all kinds of possible moves before the NHL trade deadline next Friday. GM Kevyn Adams has indicated that he has an interest in signing pending unrestricted free agent wingers Jason Zucker and Jordan Greenway to contract extensions and has an interest in making hockey deals that would bring back players currently in or ready to play in the NHL.

One of the names that has begun to circulate in recent weeks is veteran winger Alex Tuch.

Following Thursday's 5-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh, the Sabres' longshot odds of making the playoffs decreased to just 1.5% (per Moneypuck). The club has played better since its 13-game winless skid in November and December, which took it out of the postseason race, but its inconsistency over the last couple of seasons may indicate that a shake-up of its core group may be overdue.

Tuch was acquired as part of the Jack Eichel deal in November 2021, and since setting a career-high 36-goal season in 2023 has reached the 20-goal mark in consecutive seasons. He has been a vocal leader since being acquired, but the Sabres have not been able to build around him and achieve any success over the last three seasons.

The Syracuse, NY native is 28 years old and has a year left on his current contract at a very attractive $4.75 million AAV. Tuch’s age and reasonable cap hit are likely the reason why his name has gained momentum in trade rumors over the last month.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported in early February that Tuch could be a potential target of the Tampa Bay Lightning if he were being shopped, but the Sabres are looking for younger NHL-ready players in a deal involving their core pieces and the Lightning do not have anyone other than Conor Geekie (acquired in the Mikhail Sergachev deal last summer) that fits that description.

Adams is not in a position to make a deal for the sake of making a deal. The Sabres are looking for a paradigm shift within their organization but cannot risk coming up on the short end of a trade as they did when they moved Eichel or Sam Reinhart.

Follow Michael on X, Instagram, and Bluesky @MikeInBuffalo