The Buffalo Sabres have become the story of the NHL season, as the club that was in last place in the Eastern Conference in early December is currently atop the Atlantic Division by four points after their 6-3 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday. Jack Quinn notched his first career hat trick for the Sabres, who registered their eighth win in a row coming out of the Olympic break.

Everything seems to be going right with the Sabres, who have an incredible 29-5-2 (.833 winning percentage) record since December 9, and have revitalized a long dormant fanbase, as the club had their sixth straight sellout against the Sharks in a non-conference matchup on a weekday, something that was unheard of the last 14 years unless the club was playing arch-rivals Toronto or Montreal.

The club and their fans are content to ride the wave of positivity and victories at this point, but the news of another pending free agent falling off the board continues to make the chances of winger Alex Tuch re-signing to Buffalo longer.

Other Sabres Stories

Six Former Sabres Who Signed Elsewhere

Sabres add depth at trade deadline

Tuch scored his 28th goal of the season in the win over the Sharks and is on pace to reach the 30-goal mark for the third time in four years. After the signings of Adrian Kempe and Artemi Panarin before the trade deadline, the 29–year-old is projected to be the most-sought-after forward on July 1. On Wednesday, the Utah Mammoth signed another pending free agent, Nick Schmaltz, to an eight-year, $64 million contract extension. Schmaltz, 30, stepped into the #1 center role with the Mammoth after the injury to young star Logan Cooley and is on pace to set a career-high in points.

With Schmaltz joining Connor McDavid, Kirill Kaprizov, Kyle Connor, Jack Eichel, Martin Necas, Kempe and Panarin as potential free agents coming off the board, Tuch’s impetus to head to the open market has only increased, especially since there has been no indication that the Sabres have come off their stance of not exceeding $10 million on a new deal.

"We've had some productive talks with (Alex), and we've expressed our desire to sign him, and we'll continue doing that." Sabres GM Jarmo Kekalainen said after the deadline. "I told his agent that we're not going to make our team weaker if we don't get a deal done by trade deadline. We're not trading him, and we didn't, because we want to strengthen our team and not make it weaker, and Alex is obviously a huge part of it. So now we're going to continue those talks and hopefully get a deal done before July 1."

Unless there is a change in the stance by either side, the only leverage that the Sabres have is their ability to offer an eight-year deal to Tuch, whether it be to spread the AAV out over a longer term or to enable the club to get something back for the winger, similar to what the Toronto Maple Leafs did with Mitch Marner and the Vegas Golden Knights. Otherwise, Tuch will only be able to sign a six-year deal with another club after July 1, when the new collective bargaining agreement goes into effect.

Follow Michael on X, Instagram @MikeInBuffalo

Sabres Keep Rolling With Win Over Sharks; Chances Of Tuch Re-Signing Are Fading