Report: Capitals acquire Alex Tuch from Sabres in sign-and-trade deal
It appears that Alex Tuch will not be hitting the free agent market after all – but he’s still changing teams.
Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman reported on Wednesday that the Buffalo Sabres and Washington Capitals have agreed on a sign-and-trade with Tuch, as the winger has been signed to a $10.5 million cap hit for eight years and will be dealt to the Capitals in exchange for a third-round pick. The return in the trade was reported by TSN and Athletic insider Pierre LeBrun.
Tuch was set to become an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career after the conclusion of his seven-year contract with a $4.75 million cap hit, and would likely have been the top free agent on the market. He originally signed that deal with the Vegas Golden Knights, but was dealt to the Sabres in the third year of the contract as part of the return for Jack Eichel. While the Syracuse, New York would have likely enjoyed staying in his home state, he and the Sabres just couldn’t get a deal done.
Tuch is coming off of a solid season where he had 33 goals and 33 assists for 66 points in 79 games with the Sabres. However, he lost a bit of that momentum during the Sabres’ first playoff run in 15 years, as he had just four goals and three assists for seven points in 13 games, including a pointless showing in the team’s second-round series against the Montreal Canadiens.
The Capitals have had a busy start to the week, as they also acquired Jordan Kyrou from the St. Louis Blues in exchange for Connor McMichael, Milton Gastrin and their 16th-overall pick in the upcoming draft. Washington is set to have just over $12.5 million in salary cap space after acquiring Tuch, with four restricted free agents and nine UFAs, highlighted by Alex Ovechkin and Trevor van Riemsdyk.
The acquisition does create an interesting question about the future of Ovechkin with the Capitals, as it was already up in the air about if he would retire or not. Washington still has plenty of cap space to bring back their longtime captain, and it’s also possible that Ovechkin takes a pay cut so the team can add more and contend next season.