Alex Tuch Reportedly to Be Traded to Capitals from Sabres, New Contract Details Revealed

Arguably the best free agent of the 2026 NHL offseason is off the board, as winger Alex Tuch is headed to the Washington Capitals and will sign an eight-year contract worth $10.5 million per season, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman and The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun.

Tuch, who was born in Syracuse, New York, grew up a Sabres fan and spent the past five seasons playing in Buffalo.

Famously, Tuch first arrived in Buffalo as part of the trade that sent Jack Eichel to the Vegas Golden Knights in 2021, and although that trade paid huge dividends for Vegas in the form of a Stanley Cup, it worked out for the Sabres as well.

In five seasons with the Minnesota Wild and Golden Knights, Tuch never registered more than 20 goals or 52 points in a season, but he blew past those benchmarks in Buffalo and established himself as one of the organization's best and most popular players.

Over the past five seasons with the Sabres, Tuch appeared in 360 regular-season games and recorded 139 goals and 170 assists for 309 points to go along with a plus/minus rating of plus-60.

Tuch reached the 30-goal mark in three of the past four seasons, including a career-high 36 in 2023 and 2025, and he had a career-high 79 points in 2023 as well.

Last season, Tuch finished with 33 goals and 33 assists for 66 points, and he set a new personal best with a plus-24 rating, as the Sabres ended their 14-year playoff drought, which was the longest in NHL history.

Tuch was a huge reason why the Sabres advanced to the second round of the playoffs as well, recording seven points in six games in their first-round triumph over the Boston Bruins.

However, Tuch was held scoreless in seven games against the Montreal Canadiens in the second round, and Buffalo suffered a heartbreaking, Game 7 loss in overtime.

Given Tuch's performance in that series and the high-dollar contract he figured to command, there were major question marks regarding whether he would be back with what is essentially his hometown team.

The Sabres were ultimately unable to come to terms with the 30-year-old veteran, though, and they will now look to replace his production internally and potentially even externally via trade or free agency.

Key players such as defenseman Rasmus Dahlin and forward Tage Thompson are slated to be back in the fold for the Sabres in 2026-27, but Tuch represents a sizable loss, and it is fair to wonder if general manager Jarmo Kekäläinen will be aggressive in trying to make up for his departure.

This news comes one day after the Capitals acquired forward Jordan Kyrou from the St. Louis Blues. Meanwhile, LeBrun reported Alex Ovechkin is not expected to make a decision before July 1.

Adding Tuch and Kyrou should boost a Washington team that was just on the outside of the playoff picture this past season. The team finished with 95 points, which was three points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Philadelphia Flyers in the Metropolitan Division and four points behind the Ottawa Senators for the final wild-card spot