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The Buffalo Sabers have a chance to end their 14-year playoff drought.
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For all intents and purposes, it looks like Alex Tuch is here to stay and do it all.
NHL insider Elliott Friedman reported this week that despite trade winds surrounding Tach previously, he’s unlikely to go anywhere.
Tach is in the final year of his contract, making him a logical sell-off player for sellers. But these sabers are not sellers.
“Buffalo is not a seller. They are trying to get it,” Friedman said. “The bet on Tah is that he’s going to be in Buffalo next week, whether he’s re-signed or not. Even if they don’t sign him — and I don’t expect they’re going to sign him at this point — I think he’s going to stay.”
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Friedman went on to cite precedent for this selection involving the Sabers’ new general manager.
“Don’t forget, Jarmo Kekalainen has been in this position before,” Friedman said. “When Columbus beat Tampa to win their first playoff series, they had some UFAs, and Jarmo was in a position where he just said, ‘You know what, Columbus never wins a series — we’re going to go for it. If we lose players, we lose players.’ That’s what they did. So, he understands that, and he knows how to handle it. I think that’s the way he’s going to approach it in Buffalo.”
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It feels like the rumors surrounding Tah started before the start of the season. It was just a foregone conclusion that the Sabers would struggle and he would be traded elsewhere rather than sign an extension.
The extension hasn’t come yet, but the Sabers aren’t in trouble. They have a good chance of making the playoffs. Tuch even talked about wanting to win a Stanley Cup.
Unless something surprising happens, Tuch appears to be staying put.
