Sabres' Tuch reflects on season that saw him blossom into two-way star

The frustration of missing the playoffs yet again remains for the Buffalo Sabres, but there are positives to take from this past season.

For Alex Tuch, one of those things is playing in every single game.

"Playing 82 games was a big thing for me, just trying to be healthy and as consistent as possible,” he said. “I think that I wasn't as consistent as I wanted to be, but in the second half of the year I thought I did a better job of being a little hungrier and sprinting a little bit more and just bearing down in certain areas."

And that all led to Tuch matching his career high in goals with 36, with six of those shorthanded — tied for the NHL lead. And as far as his efforts on defense: 113 blocked shots — a new NHL single-season record by a forward. 

"When you're scoring, your confidence gets up a little bit and I was trying to keep my confidence as high as possible, and that included me being a game-changer every night,” said Tuch. “I try to do it defensively and do it the entire length of the ice, so I think just trying to look for little things in my game to give me confidence and to be better at times helped my success.”

With one year left on his current contract, Tuch is putting himself in position to receive a long-term deal from the Sabres that could keep the upstate new Yorker on the team he rooted for as a child for the rest of his career.

"[He] leads our forwards in minutes, played in every situation," said General Manager Kevyn Adams. “I thought he had a tremendous season, and he loves Buffalo and wants to be here so he's a priority. He's a guy we want to have here for a long time."

"I love it here in Buffalo,” said Tuch. “I really enjoy my time here and I would like to win here in Buffalo." 

The 28-year-old will be eligible to sign any extension the Sabres offer on July 1 of this year.