The Buffalo Sabres are getting ready to pull off their second major trade in as many days. This time, they’re selling off a forward instead of a defenseman.
Insider Elliotte Friedman confirmed on Wednesday afternoon that the Sabres are getting ready to send impending UFA forward Alex Tuch to the Washington Capitals.
8 x $10.5M
While the details of this deal are unclear at the moment, what is certain is that the deal will come with a hefty eight-year extension for the 30-year-old with a $10.5 million cap hit.
Now, the extension itself is a fait accompli. PuckPedia reports the deal as complete. That means the only pending order of business is the trade itself.
It will be interesting to see what the Capitals pay for that extra year of Tuch, considering the Toronto Maple Leafs paid a fifth-round pick for Darren Raddysh earlier this month.
It’s worth noting that the whole point of the sign-and-trade deal is for the Capitals to get the eighth year on Tuch’s contract. That’s only possible if Tuch signs with the Sabres first and then gets traded.
If the former first-round pick from the 2014 NHL Draft hits the market, the Capitals would have only been able to sign him to a maximum seven-year deal.
Why Would Capitals Want Eighth Year for Tuch?
So, a fair question to consider is: Why would the Washington Capitals want to get that eighth year for Tuch?
The answer lies in the AAV. The talk was that the Sabres were unwilling to meet Tuch’s asking price, one around $12 million AAV. The ask came down with time, likely leading the Capitals to throw in the extra year just to keep the overall cap hit down.
Otherwise, signing Tuch to just a seven-year pact would have forced the Capitals to pay a little extra, potentially affecting the team’s cap hit. It’s worth highlighting that Washington is getting ready for a post-Alexander Ovechkin life, making the former Sabres forward the best piece it could find to replace Ovechkin’s scoring.
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Sabres Make Smart Move in Tuch Deal
The Sabres made a wise move by getting something, anything, for Tuch. Since he was as good as gone, Buffalo did well to get a return out of it.
Even if the Sabres get just a draft pick out of it, it’s much more than they would have otherwise gotten. GM Jarmo Kekalainen deserves a ton of credit for capitalizing on the weak free-agent market, bringing in a massive haul in two days.
Tuesday’s Bowen Byram trade landed the Sabres the fourth-overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. Now, the return on Tuch gives Buffalo even more ammo to pursue other moves this offseason.
The Sabres have two major RFAs on the docket in Peyton Krebs and Zach Benson. With just under $21 million in cap space, it’s likely Buffalo decided that bringing Tuch back wasn’t worth it at the expense of two young, talented forwards like Benson and Krebs.
Sabres Tuch Trade Imminent, Insider Confirms