NHL salary cap change should be good news for Sabres, Alex Tuch

NHL salary cap change should be good news for Sabres, Alex Tuch originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Buffalo Sabres have a clear and obvious need for some more salary cap space this offseason: Alex Tuch.

They got good news on Wednesday when the NHL's new salary cap figures for the 2026-27 season were released.

The cap has gone up -- way up.

This is what Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News thinks that should mean:

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He's probably right.

Tuch has been a big-time offensive asset for the Sabres this season as they've made a push into the second round of the playoffs for the first time in 19 years.

He was a guy who, before the year, seemed like he might be a trade candidate. Given that he was in a contract year, and the Sabres weren't expected to contend, it would've been logical to send him away.

Instead, though, the Sabres flipped a switch in December and took off, and they haven't really slowed down since.

That meant they kept Tuch through the trade deadline, and now he's a strong candidate to get paid a lot of money somewhere. With the extra salary cap space, that somewhere could certainly be Buffalo.