Sabres’ Alex Tuch’s future plans get latest update from Elliotte Friedman originally appeared on The Sporting News. Click here to add Sports News as your go-to source.
The relationship between the Buffalo Sabers and Alex Tuch reached a critical point earlier this month when the NHL trade deadline arrived.
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A rebuilding Buffalo team could trade Tach when his contract expires. The sabers kept him.
Tach will have to perform well in the playoffs and prove to be a solid decision.
As the stage gets bigger, how Tach performs could determine his future contract.
The trickiest part may be adjusting whether Buffalo really wants to keep him long-term versus his game dictates what the Sabers should do.
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In a new 32 Thoughts column, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman breaks down this complex setup.
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“The new administration in Buffalo has changed its relationship with Alex Tuch, but apparently not enough to get us to a deal,” Friedman wrote. “It’s always the hardest for the players, but there’s a lot of experience in the negotiations (Jamo Kekalainen and Josh Flynn on one side, and the Bartlett family on the other). No one is panicking. Maybe this will be resolved before the playoffs, but I could see it depending on how the playoffs go. If Tucci has a big performance in April, May and/or June, it will force the Sabers to make a move.”
To be fair, the Sabers are hoping to play late enough in the season for Tuch to have a big June.
He talked earlier in the season about wanting not only the playoffs, but the Stanley Cup. Will his performance on the ice match those bold words?
If that’s the case, then the payday and the speed with which it arrives may be pretty lucky for the Syracuse native who plays in Western New York.
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