The Buffalo Sabres finally broke through last season. They won the Atlantic Division. They beat the Bruins in the first round. And for the first time in forever, it felt like something real was building in Buffalo.
Then free agency hit. And Alex Tuch walked.
The 30-year-old winger signed an eight-year, $84 million contract with the Washington Capitals. That’s $10.5 million per season. And for a guy who scored 33 goals last year and played nearly 19 minutes a night, the money was the deciding factor — even if leaving stung.
Why Tuch left
On the Cam and Strick Podcast, Tuch was honest about how it all went down. The Sabres made an offer, but it wasn’t close enough to what Washington put on the table.
“The Sabres did come up a bit, but there was still a bit of a gap,” Tuch said. “It is going to hit hard when I go back to Buffalo and play in front of those fans again.”
Tuch spent five years with the Sabres after being part of the Jack Eichel trade. He hit 36 goals twice in Buffalo, his career best. Last season he added 33 assists, seven power-play goals, and three short-handed goals. He’s not just a scorer. He kills penalties and plays 200 feet. That kind of two-way game is hard to replace.
Buffalo still has Tage Thompson and Rasmus Dahlin. But losing a guy like Tuch — a top-line forward who does everything — changes the math. The Sabres are better than they were two years ago, but they’re not deep enough to lose a player like that without feeling it.
For Washington, this is a big swing. Tuch turns 31 during the first season of that deal, and eight years is a long commitment. But the Caps need scoring and they need a leader who can play in all situations. Tuch gives them both.
When Buffalo plays host to Washington this season, expect some emotion. Tuch admitted that moment is already in his head. The fans there embraced him, and he gave them everything he had. But in the end, the check cleared in D.C.
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