In a sign-and-trade that closes a long negotiation arc, Alex Tuch was sent from the Buffalo Sabres to the Washington Capitals, signing an eight-year contract with an $10.5 million cap hit. The Sabres received a 2027 third-round pick and forward David Kämpf, an
The deal was done on Wednesday, and the moment it landed on the Capitals’ side, the Buffalo Sabres’ offseason picture changed again.
Alex Tuch, a 30-year-old forward, was traded to Washington in a sign-and-trade and agreed to an eight-year contract carrying a $10.5 million cap hit. The move effectively ends Tuch’s run in Buffalo, a tenure Jarmo Kekäläinen said he expected to conclude earlier on Wednesday.
“one thing that I’ve always said is it depends on the contract. Him being a 30-year-old player, there’s risk involved,” Kekäläinen said. “Do you want to go max term, eight years, it still is. And then there’s the money. and we’re tight on cap this summer because we have the Skinner buyout coming. $6.5 million against our cap this year. then we get into a lot better situation a year from now. The AAV comes
all eight years. So that’s something we needed to consider. OK. if we sign him to a certain number. does this now mean we take two. three. maybe four players off our roster to make it work cap-wise?. So that was a balancing act with our take on things. He’s a good player, but we have a lot of faith in our group. He’s going to missed, but we’ll be fine.”.
Before the season, the Sabres and Tuch had discussed a new deal, but those talks were tabled early in the year. Publicly, both sides expressed interest in reaching an agreement, yet the gap between expectations never closed.
“I don’t think at this point we’ve come to any points in our talks that would indicate that we would sign with us. ” Kekäläinen said. “We made it clear to him that we wanted to sign him. He was an important player for us and a good leader — all those things that we talked about very many times. But sometimes when the players have the power to choose, they choose differently.”.
In return, Buffalo received a 2027 third-round pick and forward David Kämpf from the Capitals. Kämpf is a pending UFA.
The signing comes with a sharper backdrop than a typical contract negotiation. Tuch had been seeking a deal in the range of the contract Adrian Kempe signed with the Los Angeles Kings. an eight-year agreement that carries a cap hit of roughly $10 million. The Sabres were hesitant to go into double-digit average annual value territory. while Tuch and his camp maintained confidence they could reach it.
To illustrate how the market and leverage have been moving around the league. the Leafs’ recent sequence matters in the same way: last week. the Maple Leafs gave up a fifth-round pick to acquire the negotiating rights to Lightning defenseman Darren Raddysh before signing him to an eight-year contract worth $8.5 million per year. Last summer, the Leafs got Nicolas Roy from Vegas in a sign-and-trade for Mitch Marner.
For Buffalo, the decision isn’t just about one player’s number. It’s about who the team believes it can be next.
Tuch grew up two hours east of Buffalo in Baldwinsville, New York, and cheered for the Sabres as a kid. He joined the organization in 2021 as part of the Jack Eichel trade and quickly became both a fan favorite and a locker-room leader. His production with Buffalo was defined by consistency and bursts—309 points in 360 games. including three 30-goal seasons. plus a breakout 79-point season in 2022-23. He also became known as a key penalty killer and received Selke votes for his two-way play.
Now, the Sabres are trying to replace not only production but presence.
Buffalo believes it is better positioned to do that than it would have been a year ago. Josh Doan had a breakout season and signed a long-term contract. Noah Östlund, Konsta Helenius, and Zach Benson are all 22 or younger and made a significant impact for the Sabres during the postseason.
Tuch’s departure also lands after another veteran-leaning turn in Buffalo’s roster. The Sabres traded defenseman Bowen Byram to the Chicago Blackhawks in a blockbuster deal after Byram was unwilling to negotiate a new contract. Kekäläinen traded Byram and Jordan Greenway to Chicago for the No. 4 and No. 45 picks in the 2026 NHL Draft and 25-year-old defenseman Louis Crevier.
With Tuch and Byram being two of Buffalo’s most experienced players, Kekäläinen framed the next step as a leadership handoff.
“We fill that void in my mind with our young players who play like leaders like Zach Benson and Josh Doan. ” Kekäläinen said. “They grow into leaders and take that void. Yeah, we’re going to miss some of that stuff and veteran players that have been through a lot. But at the same time. we’re going to grow here as a group. and those individuals showed us already in the playoffs that they’re leaders by example and will take some more responsibility on.”.
In the end. the narrative is simple even if the emotions aren’t: Tuch wanted a contract aligned with what the top of the market can offer. the Sabres weighed risk and cap math tied to the $6.5 million Skinner buyout coming this summer. and Washington won the final negotiation. By Wednesday night, the Sabres had traded away a homegrown star. And in Washington, the Caps gained an eight-year centerpiece.
Alex Tuch Buffalo Sabres Washington Capitals sign-and-trade $10.5 million cap hit David Kämpf Jarmo Kekäläinen Skinner buyout Baldwinsville 2027 third-round pick