Tuch Talking Contract Extension With Sabres

The Buffalo Sabres faced a free agent dilemma with winger JJ Peterka that resulted in the young winger being traded to Utah for defenseman Michael Kesselring and winger Josh Doan. The Bowen Byram situation is currently in limbo as the club elected for salary arbitration on the restricted free agent defenseman to rule out an offer sheet. GM Kevyn Adams is hoping to be proactive with veteran winger Alex Tuch.

Rumors of a possible trade have been circulating going back to before the deadline in March and the 29-year-old winger finished with a career-high 36-goal campaign last season, but according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman from his 32 Thoughts podcast, the Sabres and Tuch are expected to begin contract talks after he became eligible to sign an extension on July 1.

Tuch is tied for fourth among Sabres forwards in salary with a $4.75 million cap hit after Ryan McLeod’s four-year, $20 million extension, and Friedman believes that his salary demand will be a “big ask”. With the salary cap rising from $95.5 million to $104 million in 2026, the veteran winger is in a strong negotiating position to ask to be the club’s highest paid forward.

Currently, center Josh Norris is the highest paid at just under $8 million per season, leading scorer Tage Thompson makes $7.14 million, McLeod is signed at a $5 million AAV, and veteran Jason Zucker signed a two-year extension in March for the same $4.75 million cap hit as Tuch. The Syracuse, NY native has 106 goals for the Sabres in 281 regular season games since being acquired from Vegas as part of the Jack Eichel deal in 2021 and is a core piece who appears to want to stay in Buffalo, but he is likely looking for a long-term commitment to pay him through his mid-to-late 30’s or he will be a sought-after commodity as an unrestricted free agent next July.