The Buffalo Sabres made the decision to move on from Alex Tuch. GM Jarmo Kekäläinen notified the media before the rumoured sign-and-trade with the Washington Capitals went down. Many felt Tuch and the Sabres needed to get a deal done. The longer this dragged on, the less likely Tuch was going to get his price from the Sabres. They decided to part ways.
As the old saying goes, if they were close, that deal would have been signed. Tuch is off to Washington on an eight-year deal at $10.5 million a season. In addition, the Sabres moved off defenseman Bowen Byram and Jordan Greenway, acquiring the 4th overall pick from the Chicago Blackhawks. The Sabres got the 20th overall pick in exchange for Michael Kesselring from the San Jose Sharks.
Now Buffalo extended Zach Benson to a seven-year deal at $7.5 million a season. However, as Dave Pagnotta of the Fourth Period said on Sirius XM NHL Network Radio Power Play segment with Steve Kouleas and Craig Button, the Buffalo Sabres are not done reshaping their roster.
NHLRumors.com Transcriptions
NHL Rumors: There Could Be a Domino Effect for All the Big Trades That Are Happening
Steve Kouleas: “Here to talk about the items of the day or something that might drop before the draft or during the draft is our own insider, Mr. Dave Pagnotta. I guess it’s Tuch, the reality of Tuch leaving, Byram leaving, and the Sabres. I guess they’ll need to add whether they trade that fourth overall pick or go shopping in free agency. Dave, let’s start with Buffalo. What do you think?”
Dave Pagnotta: “Buffalo is active, truly. They’re active, they’re looking around. They’re looking at bringing somebody up front, they’re looking at bringing somebody on that back end. They’ve been connected to (Vincent) Trocheck and even Brandon Carlo. There’s been some talk out of that as Toronto is weighing their options with him, as he is a prime candidate to move. But the Sabres, yeah, they make some moves, they’re looking around, they’re not done. I would be surprised if they are.
Kekäläinen kind of hinted that he’s got a few irons in the fire. He certainly does, and to what degree we’ll have to wait and see, but after making the move today, we’ll get a third-round pick in that Tuch trade from Washington.
They give him a nice contract, $10.5 million over eight years, and the Capitals aren’t messing around either. This is a team that has money to spend. They’re waiting on (Alex) Ovechkin as well, not a foregone conclusion either way, whether he stays or goes, but the Caps are active.
NHL Rumors: Toronto Maple Leafs, San Jose Sharks, and the New Jersey Devils
Sabres are active. A lot of teams are still very, very active here, boys, as we get closer to the draft.”
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