Less than a month away from the start of the 2025-2026 season, and we’ve got some NHL rumours from Western New York to spice things up. The salary cap will make massive jumps over the next couple seasons. And with that, general managers may be looking to sign players eligible for contract extensions sooner rather than later. Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel, Kirill Kaprizov, are just a few of the examples of big names entering the final years of their deals. Whether or not these types of players sign long term deals this offseason, only time will tell.
The Buffalo Sabres have a big name player of their own who’s eligible for a contract extension. This edition of NHL rumours gives an update on star forward, Alex Tuch.
All NHL rumours come from the original source and are subject to change.
NHL Rumours
Update on Latest Regarding Forward For the Buffalo Sabres
Rumour: David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period gave an update on the state of Alex Tuch‘s contract extension talks with the Buffalo Sabres. According to Pagnotta, “nothing is close” between the Sabres and Tuch. “It’s no secret the Sabres want to lock him up – he’s also in the final year of his current contract – but they haven’t gotten to that point yet.”
Camps start this coming week, so lots to unpack in my latest column:
– Kaprizov $$$
– Kempe, Kings talking this week
– Hart has options
– Tuch & Sabres
– Stolarz & Leafs
– 2026 NHL Draft & outdoor game in Europe
– Evangelista, Chinakhov, Peeke & more https://t.co/G1Bv7D2pP5— David Pagnotta (@TheFourthPeriod) September 13, 2025
Analysis: Alex Tuch is without a doubt, a superstar, and a very underrated player in the NHL. Alex Tuch is a two time 36 goal scorer with the Sabres. Tallying 79 points in the 2022-2023 season, and 67 points last season with the team. Tuch is an unbelievable penalty killer, scoring four shorthanded goals last season. He set a new NHL record for shots blocked by a forward with 113 in the 2024-2025 season. He scores goals, earns points in the Selke voting, blocks shots at a historic rate, and has played at least 74 games in each of the last three seasons.
It’s no wonder why the Sabres want to lock this guy up, local reporting thought Alex Tuch would be signed earlier in September. Chad DeDominicis from xBuffalo reported that the two parties were close to a deal. Followed by Craig Rivet and Andrew Peters reporting similar claims on their Podcast, After the Whistle. These rumours were circulating around September 4th. However, here we stand over a week later with no deal.
What It Means
There are seemingly three possibilities as to why a deal hasn’t been done. Like Pagnotta reported, it is simply business-as-usual. The Sabres management haven’t come to that point yet. Secondly, a deal fell through because of a disagreement on a number, term or otherwise. Or lastly, Tuch wants to wait out signing a deal for now. Let us dive into those possibilities.
If the Sabres have genuinely not gotten around to attempting to make a deal with Tuch happen yet, the dynamic of the entire front office needs to be reassessed. This is their third best player, an all-star, and a potential Olympian after Tuch was named to the Summer Orientation Camp Roster with Team USA. The Sabres should want to have this deal done by the start of training camp. For a team that hasn’t made the playoffs in 14 years, they should be dire to extend their best players.
It Is Likely a Small Disagreement At the End of the Day
Is there a disagreement on a number? Always potential for that to be the case. Estimated contract average annual value has hovered anywhere from $8-$10 million. That is a reasonable range after all. The Sabres have no leverage with this player other than an emotional appeal. That being Tuch grew up in Western New York as a Sabres fan. Someone will give Tuch the potential $10 million per year asking price if the Sabres don’t.
The last idea on our NHL Rumours, could Tuch want to just wait it out? Absolutely, there could be two reasons he wants to do that. He was the big piece in the Eichel trade. Since then, he has wasted great seasons in Buffalo, and Vegas won a cup. There is the chance Tuch is frustrated with lack of team success, and doesn’t want to lock himself into a contract that would keep him in Buffalo for most likely the rest of his career. If Buffalo starts the year slow, it would not be a shock if on the last year of his contract, he requested a trade out of Buffalo to a contender.
It is Certain, Tuch Will Get the Bank, He’s a Pure Goal Scorer
The second reason being, he could be wanting to wait to see what the market says the rest of the big name forwards are requesting. We just saw Kaprizov potentially decline the richest contract in NHL history. Those other big names, such as Kyle Connor, McDavid, Eichel, they’re going to get paid a premium dollar. When those guys inevitably reset the market, that might bump up Tuch’s number as well.
Whatever the reason may be, the lack of an extension looms large over the Sabres. This is a guy that deserves to be rewarded, and if the Sabres don’t do it somebody will. The Sabres should want to get this done by training camp, we’ll be sure to have more rumours or be breaking down the contract once it’s announced.
Main Photo Credit: Daniel Bartel-USA TODAY Sports
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