BUFFALO, N.Y. — With little progress in talks to re-sign Alex Tuch, Buffalo Sabres general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said he anticipates losing the veteran forward to free agency.
Though negotiations began last summer, the sides remain far apart on terms, with Kekalainen noting the Sabres are constrained by the salary cap. He also noted the element of risk of signing a 30-year-old player to a long-term contract.
“I don’t think at this point that we’ve come to any point in our talks that would indicate that he’d want to sign with us,” Kekalainen said. “So I think he’s moving on and getting into free agency, and now we’ve got to look at our options.”
One option is a sign-and-trade deal to get something in return for a player the Sabres elected to retain at the trade deadline in March to spur the team’s push in making the playoffs for the first time in 15 seasons.
Tuch would become one of the more prized free agents once the NHL’s signing period opens on July 1. He’s a 10-year veteran who has topped 20 goals in four of his five seasons in Buffalo — including scoring 33 or more in each of the past two years.
In Buffalo, he had 139 goals and 309 points in 360 games in filling a top-line role. Overall, he has 200 goals and 448 points in 615 NHL games.
Tuch had an inconsistent postseason. After scoring four goals and three assists in Buffalo’s six-game series win against Boston in the first round, he was held with a point in a seven-game loss to Montreal in the second round.
The Sabres acquired Tuch and forward Peyton Krebs in a trade that sent former captain Jack Eichel to the Vegas Golden Knights in November 2021. Tuch is from Syracuse, New York, and welcomed the trade because he grew up rooting for the Sabres.
“He’s a good player but we have a lot of faith in our group,” said Kekalainen, who took over in December after Kevyn Adams was fired. “He’s is going to be missed but we’ll be fine.”
The Sabres have numerous promising young forwards in position to step up, including Noah Ostlund, Konsta Helenius and Jiri Kulich, who is expected to be healthy after missing much of last season with a blood clot issue.
The news on Tuch comes a day after Buffalo lost another key contributor from a team that led to the Sabres winning their first Atlantic Division title and win its first playoff round since 2007.
The Sabres traded defenseman Bowen Byram and checking line forward Jordan Greenway to the Chicago Blackhawks. Buffalo acquired Chicago’s No. 4 pick and a second-round selection in the draft, along with promising defenseman Louis Crevier.
Kekalainen revealed Byram expressed no interest in wanting to remain in Buffalo after his current contract expired next summer.
“He didn’t want to negotiate; he wasn’t gonna sign with us. So, that didn’t leave us an option to do anything else,” Kekalainen said.
With the fourth pick, the Sabres are positioned to land a top prospect in a draft class that’s loaded with highly regarded defenseman in a draft Buffalo is hosting. Among the defensive candidates expected to be available at No. 4 are Carson Carels (WHL Prince George), North Dakota’s Keaton Verhoeff and Latvia’s Alberts Smits.
Kekalainen said he’s taking a wait-and-see approach as to whether he’ll consider trading the selection for a more NHL-ready asset.
“We’ll gather that information around the league and see what the value is, and if we don’t think it’s as much as making the pick, then we make the pick,” he said.
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