Buffalo Sabres Need Tuch To Lead the Way

Of all the reasons that can be attributed to the optimism currently surrounding the Buffalo Sabres, Alex Tuch is probably the biggest. After being acquired from the Vegas Golden Knights in the November 2021 Jack Eichel blockbuster, Sabres fans had to wait nearly two months to see their return in the trade, but it was well worth it. Tuch became a sensation upon debuting, scoring at a nearly point-per-game pace and emerging as both a leader and fan favorite in the process.

Entering his first full season with the club, the Sabres are expecting him to continue his success. 2022-23 looks to be a pivotal campaign for Buffalo, and for the team to achieve its expectations of further improvement, Tuch has to lead the way.

Tuch Couldn’t Have Arrived In Buffalo At A Better Time

Since the end of the COVID-shortened 2021 season, the entire Sabres organization had been engulfed in the controversy surrounding Eichel and his neck injury. It developed into a toxic, polarizing mess that all but guaranteed that the two sides would part ways, and that was exactly what happened.

After the superstar center was traded to the Golden Knights, the Sabres were left with a massive void and needed to wipe the slate clean in a big way. Enter Alex Tuch.

Being traded to Buffalo wasn’t exactly a true homecoming for Tuch, but it certainly was in the spiritual sense. Growing up just over two hours away in the Syracuse, NY suburb of Baldwinsville, he was a Sabres fan as a child and grew up next door to another native of the area that played for the team, Tim Connolly.

“I really just loved everything about the team,” Tuch said in an interview with the NHL Player’s Association after being acquired. “And now, to be able to say that I play on Buffalo, it’s just unbelievable.”

As a result, he showed a genuine, childlike eagerness when he arrived, and it turned out to be the breath of fresh air that the Sabres desperately needed. After making his long-awaited debut at the end of December, Tuch tore it up in the second half of the season, scoring at a nearly point-per-game pace. He finished with 38 points in 50 games, which was still good enough for seventh on the Sabres.

But though his offensive contributions were a welcome boost for Buffalo, it was Tuch’s aura that proved to be his most valuable asset. In addition to endearing himself to the Western New York community through numerous acts of charity, the…