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The Buffalo Sabres and Alex Tuch reached a key checkpoint in their relationship earlier this month when the NHL trade deadline arrived.
A rebuilding Buffalo team would've traded away Tuch as he approaches the expiration of his contract. These Sabres kept him.
It's up to Tuch to play well in the postseason and validate that as a solid decision.
And how well Tuch plays as the stage gets bigger could determine his contract for the future.
The trickiest part may be aligning whether Buffalo really wants to keep him long term versus what his play dictates the Sabres should do.
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In a new 32 Thoughts column, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman broke down the complicated setup.
"Buffalo’s new regime’s budged a bit with Alex Tuch, but obviously not enough yet that we’ve got a deal," Friedman writes. "It’s always hardest on the player, but there’s a lot of experience in the negotiations (Jarmo Kekalainen and Josh Flynn on one side, the Bartlett family on the other). No one’s going to panic. Maybe it gets solved before the post-season, but I could see this coming down to playoff performance. If Tuch has a big April, May and/or June, it forces the Sabres’ hand."
To be fair, the Sabres would love to be playing late enough into the season for Tuch to have a big June.
He spoke earlier in the season about not just wanted the postseason but wanting the Stanley Cup. Will his play on the ice match that bold talk?
If it does, the payday, and the speed with which it comes, could be quite fortunate for the native of Syracuse playing down the road in Western New York.
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- Just a bit of doubt about Alex Ovechkin's future
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- The $25 million implication of Maple Leafs' Bobby McMann trade
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