BUFFALO, N.Y. — When the Buffalo Sabres opened training camp on Sept. 17, it was 80 degrees outside and sunny. There was some internal optimism among players, as there is every season before the puck drops on opening night. On that day, Alex Tuch, who is in the final season of his contract before becoming an unrestricted free agent, spoke to reporters and said, “Everyone in here knows I love Buffalo, I love being a Buffalo Sabre, and I would love to be here long-term.”
The day before that, Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams said Tuch’s contract is a priority but added, “It works both ways,” when asked why the two sides hadn’t come to an agreement.
A lot has changed in the month since those comments. For one, Kirill Kaprizov, Connor McDavid, Kyle Connor and Jack Eichel have all signed contract extensions. McDavid took a massive discount, but the other players helped set the market and potentially made Tuch’s next contract more expensive. The other thing that has changed since that day is that the Sabres started playing games, which means Tuch and his teammates are consumed with the day-to-day pressures of another season trying to end Buffalo’s playoff drought.
Because of that, and the way the Sabres’ season started, Buffalo’s fans have found themselves wondering what each bad stretch of hockey might mean for Tuch’s willingness to sign with the Sabres long term. Tuch’s agent, Brian Bartlett, was on the Daily Faceoff Rundown podcast on Wednesday and said the team has communicated clearly that it wants Tuch back. Tuch’s camp has communicated that he would like to stay. The two sides have had consistent communication and have the initial parameters of what each side is thinking.
“We weren’t able to kind of get to what made a deal before the season,” Bartlett said. “And then at this point, we’ve just put it on the back burner. Obviously things haven’t started out perfectly there the first week in Buffalo wins/losses-wise. I saw him here in Boston the other day. Competitive game, they’re playing hard, they’re not giving up on it. I still think it’s a better team than their record. I think we’ve all kind of decided that it’s best to just try to get some wins here. Alex is a leader on that team, both play-wise and kind of, you know, in the room. So he wants to focus on that, not have it a distraction, so we’ve wanted to just kind of let everyone know, like, we’re just gonna put this on the backburner for a little bit — doesn’t mean that we’re closing the door to signing, doesn’t mean anything, just means that, you know, for the time period, he’s got to try to help the Buffalo Sabres win games.”
Winning matters a lot to Tuch, and at the start of camp, he expressed his belief that he could win in Buffalo. After starting 0-3 and scoring only two goals in three games, the Sabres got a much-needed 8-4 win over the Senators at home on Wednesday night. It’s fair to wonder what the Sabres’ on-ice results will do to the temperature of negotiations.
The risk of leaving Tuch unsigned into the season is that each rough stretch raises those questions. What does a three-game losing streak mean for his headspace? For a guy who grew up cheering for the Sabres a few hours away in the Syracuse area, when does the weight of the losing become too much?
Standing outside the Sabres’ locker room on Wednesday morning, Tuch seemed at ease with his contract situation, even if the fan base is on pins and needles. Despite the new contracts that have been signed leaguewide and the way the Sabres’ season has started, his stance hasn’t changed much, if at all, since that day at the start of training camp.
“I don’t think it’s changed anything,” Tuch said of the recent contract extensions signed around the league. “I don’t think my mentality has changed in how I want to approach everything, how I want to be. Because my main focus is still just playing hockey, being the best teammate I can be in that locker room and then playing hockey. Those are the two biggest focuses at the rink. And when I leave the rink, it’s about being a dad and preparing for the next game.”
Maybe it’s that Tuch is now 29 and a father of two. He doesn’t have as much time to be on social media or ride the same highs and lows he did when he was younger. Marriage and parenthood have a way of pulling you into the present moment while also making you think about those around you. Tuch’s world no longer revolves around just him. He got a reminder of that this summer when his second son, Teller, was born premature. He spent almost three weeks in the NICU because his lungs were underdeveloped. There were scary moments, but Teller is doing great now and growing fast (“He’s a unit,” Tuch said proudly).
Of course, the same things that keep you grounded and present are also reminders of what is riding on a contract negotiation like this one. Of course, Tuch is considering what the rest of his playing career will look like, but he also has to consider how this decision impacts the rest of his family.
If the Sabres weren’t willing to meet his ask before the season, tabling negotiations for however long is necessary helps Tuch focus more on hockey and less on his contract. He continues to let his agents handle it all and says they call when they need to update him on anything. He’s also taken steps to try to make sure his contract situation doesn’t impact his teammates.
“I’m just myself,” Tuch said. “I don’t let anything like that leak into the room. If a guy wants to ask me a question, I’m very open about it. I don’t see it as a big deal. Everything is pretty public in our line of work anyways. It’s not like guys are prying. A bunch of guys have been through it, and younger guys probably aren’t comfortable asking an older guy what’s going on there. I don’t let that stuff get into the locker room. I don’t let it bother me or change who I am, how I go about my day. That’s the best way to do it. It’s just another outside distraction that you kind of let it roll off you. That’s something I’ve learned over the years, and it’s made me a better person and teammate because of it.”
Tuch, who had two points against the Senators after having just one point in the first three games, also knows there is plenty he and the Sabres need to focus on as a team. That 8-4 win over the Senators wasn’t perfect. Buffalo was outshot heavily early in the game and had some defensive lapses. But the Sabres also responded to adversity and played with passion and energy. This team had a 13-game winless streak derail its season in December last year, so stopping this losing streak at three mattered.
“That was last year,” Tuch said. “It’s a different team. We have different players. We have a different mindset. We’re a year older. We’re not going to let that happen. It’s not going to happen.”
Talking before the win against the Senators, Tuch delivered a blunt assessment of what the Sabres needed to do. Hours later, they did it.
“We have to do the simple things and let the skill take over,” Tuch said. “Just a little bit of overthinking instead of feeling. That’s the best way to put it. Just go out there and play.”
Whether they can keep that going is the question. Judging by the smile on Tuch’s face during and after the game on Wednesday, more wins could go a long way in getting a new contract over the finish line, too.