- Tuch called leaving Buffalo “one of the toughest decisions of my life”
- He sat in his Sabres sweater long after Game 7, sensing it was the last time
- Read below for why the Capitals’ pitch finally won him over
Alex Tuch didn’t want to leave Buffalo.
The winger grew up a Sabres fan in nearby Baldwinsville, so choosing to walk away in a sign-and-trade with the Washington Capitals was never going to be simple.
Tuch spoke Friday on a Zoom call about the move, a week after Buffalo shipped him to Washington and signed him to an eight-year, $84 million extension. “It was one of the toughest decisions of my life,” Tuch said, per Buffalo Hockey Beat.
Hear Tuch explain the move himself:
The hardest part came weeks earlier. After the Sabres fell 3-2 in overtime to Montreal in Game 7 of their second-round series, Tuch stayed at his locker in full uniform long after his teammates had cleared the room.
He knew what the moment might mean. “I didn’t want to take that sweater off,” Tuch said. “This might be the last moment I put on my Sabres sweater. So I wanted to make sure I sat there for a second, because it was definitely one of the toughest moments of my life.”
Buffalo made a late push to keep him. Tuch said the two sides were still talking a week before the deal, and he came away grateful for how the front office treated him.
Washington landed its man for a 2027 third-round pick and forward David Kampf:
Tuch’s agent met with Capitals GM Chris Patrick and coach Spencer Carbery, and the pitch stuck. He bought into a Washington group that still sees itself as a Stanley Cup contender, even after an injury-wrecked season that kept it out of the playoffs.
Tuch is coming off a career year, with 33 goals and 66 points in 79 games while helping Buffalo win the Atlantic Division. He chipped in seven points across 13 playoff games. Now the 30-year-old brings that game to D.C., with a return trip to KeyBank Center already looming as one he won’t get through dry-eyed.
