Capitals eye – Buffalo Sabres GM Jarmo Kekalainen said Alex Tuch’s time with the team appears to be over, even as the club weighs a sign-and-trade to recoup assets. Capitals are viewed as the frontrunner, and if the deal happens, Tuch is expected to land within the same sala
When Alex Tuch stepped into the final stretch of Buffalo’s season, he sounded like a man trying not to rush his own life.
“I don’t have a timeline right now,” Tuch said at the team’s season-ending media availability last month. “I’ve been so focused on hockey and playoffs. Once we finish here today, we’ll start having those conversations with my agent, my wife, my family and the Sabres.”
But on Wednesday, the Sabres’ front office moved in a different direction—one that suggests the conversations are already headed toward goodbye.
General manager Jarmo Kekalainen told reporters the pending unrestricted free agent’s time in Buffalo is over one way or another, while the team considers a sign-and-trade to recoup assets. “He’s going to be missed but we’ll be fine,” Kekalainen said via Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News.
The league-wide buzz is that a sign-and-trade is likely. TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger reported a sign-and-trade is likely and the Washington Capitals are considered the frontrunner.
TSN Hockey Insider Chris Johnston added that if and when the sign-and-trade moves forward, Tuch is expected to land a deal in the same range as Adrian Kempe, who signed an eight-year, $85 million contract with the Los Angeles Kings in November. Kempe’s cap hit is $10.65 million.
That’s not a small estimate—it’s a clear signal of how teams view Tuch as he heads toward the free-agent market next week.
Before free agency opens, the Sabres had tried to keep him.
Dreger reported earlier this week Buffalo was trying to circle back on signing Tuch to an extension before free agency opens next week. Johnston reported Tuesday evening that even after the team opened up cap space by sending defenceman Bowen Byram to Chicago as part of a package involving the No. 4 overall pick, the sense inside the organization was that it still would not change the direction of talks with Tuch.
There’s also a specific deadline embedded in the way these discussions typically work.
Pierre LeBrun reported Wednesday afternoon that the Sabres made a “pretty solid” offer to Tuch, but could not reach a deal.
Kekalainen has been consistent: whatever happens next, Buffalo is preparing for the possibility that Tuch won’t return.
Tuch, 30, was noncommittal about his future in Buffalo last month, saying, “I don’t know how the talks are going to go and I don’t know the future.” He also said, “I’m going to do whatever is best for myself and my family,” per 7 News WKBW.
It’s a careful balance—family first, but also the weight of what Buffalo has gotten from him.
Tuch was acquired in a trade with Vegas in November of 2021 after signing a seven-year contract as a member of the Golden Knights in October of 2018.
This past season, he produced 33 goals and 33 assists for 66 points in 79 games for the Sabres. His performance helped Buffalo return to the playoffs for the first time since 2011. He was also the third-ranked player on TSN’s Top 30 NHL Free Agents list released earlier this month.
The sign-and-trade talk doesn’t happen in isolation. It comes in the same week the Sabres made the kind of roster move that changes how fans read a team’s plans.
Kekalainen expanded on Tuesday’s trade involving Bowen Byram, telling reporters the blueliner was not willing to negotiate an extension with the Sabres before the trade to Chicago.
“We like Bowen Byram a lot, wanted to re-sign him,” Kekalainen said, adding he tried to convince him throughout the year to re-sign, but to no avail.
“We had a few deals in front of us we couldn’t pass up,” the GM said.
Byram, along with forward Jordan Greenway, was dealt to the Blackhawks in exchange for the No. 4 overall pick in this week’s draft as well as a 2026 second-rounder.
Byram has one year remaining on his contract at $6.25 million. The 25-year-old scored 11 goals and 42 points in 82 games last season, his third season in Buffalo after coming over in a deal with the Colorado Avalanche.
Taken together, the picture is sharper: Buffalo is shifting toward recouping value now, even if it means losing a player the team knows it will miss—and even as Tuch’s next contract could land in the same financial neighborhood as Kempe’s $10.65 million cap hit.
For Tuch, the waiting game ends when negotiations turn into signatures. For the Sabres, it ends when the market either accepts the sign-and-trade path or forces them to pivot after free agency opens next week.
Alex Tuch Buffalo Sabres Jarmo Kekalainen sign-and-trade Washington Capitals Bowen Byram trade Chicago Blackhawks Adrian Kempe NHL free agency