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The Buffalo Sabres did the part that everyone was hoping: They didn't trade Alex Tuch before the NHL trade deadline. He's around for the stretch run and a long-awaited Sabres return to the playoffs.
That doesn't change the fact that Tuch is a pending free agent, though. If he's going to be in Buffalo beyond this season, it'll be on a big contract.
In fact, Daily Faceoff's Matt Larkin ranks Tuch as the No. 1 unrestricted free agent in all of hockey for this offseason's class of available players.
And he writes that it'll be pricey for whoever wants him.
"All Buffalo has to do is meet what should be a significant asking price in the $10 million to $11 million range," Larkin writes. "Will GM Jarmo Kekalainen do it?"
The answer to that question could depend on just how much Tuch does in the playoffs, and how far the Sabres go.
It's a lot harder to get rid of a guy who keyed a deep run as opposed to a player who was quiet in a first-round exit.
"Each win, and each inch of daylight north of the playoff bubble, made the decision to keep Alex Tuch easier, even if he’s an own rental," Larkin writes. "But now the Sabres have, hopefully, many more months to win Tuch’s heart. He had already expressed a strong desire to stay in Buffalo before the season started; if he can do so knowing he’s part of a Stanley Cup contender, his odds of re-signing skyrocket."
Tuch is originally from the Syracuse area, so being in Buffalo has to have some level of comfort for him.
Still, this will be his best chance to get paid. Whether that's with the Sabres or elsewhere, it seems like he really has to maximize this free agency to set up the future of himself and his family.
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