Any contract extension between the Buffalo Sabres and Alex Tuch could take some time
Daily Faceoff: David Pagnotta, when asked about Buffalo Sabres forward Alex Tuch, who is eligible for a contract extension. Could he be dealt if talks and the Sabres’ season don’t go well?
** NHLRumors.com transcription
Carter Hutton: “Dave, you kind of, you kind of mentioned someone there. I want to pull the thread on a little bit more, you know, the Tuch conversation, right? And I, and I think of the market, and I think of the teams, like Buffalo is on the hot seat, right? You know, one of those teams that, if they have a slow start, is Tuch a player we see, you know, moved out, especially with, you know, the Oilers having a little more ability to make something happen. Is that a guy you can potentially see in Edmonton?”
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Pagnotta: “I think there are a lot of teams that would love to get their hands on this guy if he becomes available. From a contract side, there’s nothing new to report. You know, there’s nothing really going on at the moment.
Yeah, they’re going back and forth, and they have an open line of communication, but the negotiation process just, yeah, there’s nothing new in that regard. I don’t think it’s a bit of a worry right now. And if I’m a Sabers fan, I’m not hitting panic buttons anytime soon. And I think they will continue the lines of communication.
But to your point, the longer the season goes without a deal, and depending how the season goes for the Sabres, could impact the player’s decision and the team’s ultimate decision in this one. They want to keep him. He’s interested in staying. He has not closed the door on the Sabres at all.
But given the circumstances, given where the team’s at it, you know, unless, you know, Kevyn Adams just wakes up and says, ‘Alright, I’m going to give you this deal,’ eight times 11 or something like that. This is going to take a little bit of time, by all accounts.
But again, he hasn’t closed the door on, on Buffalo. He likes it there. It’s home. He wants to, you know, kind of make this work, but interesting decisions, because of what you said. Where the team is at. If, if this team doesn’t have them signed, and by the halfway point in the season, we already know that we’re focusing on 26-27 for them.
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Then I think you start to have discussions out there. And I would imagine the Oilers would be one of them. But I think a lot of teams, a lot of contending teams, as I said, would love to get their hands on a player of his calibre.”
Tyler Yaremchuk: “Yeah, and I mean, a pretty reasonable number as well, which with the (audio glitch) rules being what they are now like, what a potential depth (audio glitch). A guy who only makes $4.75 (million), it gets a lot easier for a lot of teams to find a way to squeeze him in.”
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